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A 


THE  CURTIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
INDEPENDENCE  SQUARE    PHILADELPHIA 


Copyright,  1913,  by  The  Curtis  Publishing  Company 

PREPARED  BY  RICHARD  J.  WALSH,  UNDER  THE 
DIRECTION  OF  THE  ADVERTISING  DEPARTMENT 


Advertising  Department 
THE  CURTIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania 

EDWARD  W.  HAZEN 

Advertising  Director 
1  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 

S.  R.  LATSHAW 

Assistant  Advertising  Dim-tor 
1  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 

STAFF 

W.  A.  Patterson,  Manager 
NKW  YORK,  1  MADISON  AVKNUE 

William  Boyd,  Manager 
CHICAGO,  1101  HOME  INSURANCE  BUILDING 

Robt.  L.  Barrows,  Manager 
PHILADELPHIA,  INDEPENDENCE  SQUARE 

Melville  H.  Smith,  Manager 
BOSTON,  MERCHANTS  NATIONAL  BANK  BUILDING 

Charles  G.  Hall,  Manager 
DIVISION  OF  DETAIL,  PHILADELPHIA 

San  Francisco  office  to  be  opened  in  the 

fall  of  1913,  under  the  management  of 

Mr.  Everett  Sisxon 


ORD 


The  most  intricate  machinery,  the  most  startling  invention,  the  most  success- 
ful government,  the  profoundest  philosophy,  all  are  merely  applied 
common  sense — the  logical  use  and  combination 
of  simple  axiomatic  truths 

THIS  book  is  addressed  to  manufacturers 
by  manufacturers  who  have  successfully 
employed  the  methods  which  it  discusses. 
It  has  three  objects : 

To  present  to  those  who  can  make  profitable 
use  thereof,  our  views  on  the  subject  of  efficient 
national  advertising. 

To  contribute,  so  far  as  we  may,  to  the  litera- 
ture of  an  aspect  of  modern  business  life  which, 
in  spite  of  its  manifest  significance,  is  at  present 
too  little  understood. 

To  place  in  convenient  and  readable  form  the 
actual  facts  about  the  advertising  facilities  which 
our  publications  have  to  offer. 

The  book  is  directed  chiefly  to  the  man  who, 
knowing  little  about  this  great  force  of  modern 
merchandising,  wants  to  know  more. 

It  is  not  for  the  expert  or  for  the  advertising 
fraternity.  We  do  not  presume  that  it  will  be  of 
importance  to  the  man  who  has  given  careful 
study  to  advertising,  nor  can  it  contain  much  that 
is  new  to  him.  If,  however,  it  should  in  any  way 
be  helpful  to  those  who  already  know,  we  shall  be 
very  glad. 


270323 


CONTENTS 

Foreword  3 

List  of  Illustrations  7 

PART  I 

Advertising  Today  13 

The  Development  of  Advertising  23 

The  Efficacy  of  Advertising  1±3 

The  Machinery  of  Advertising  55 

The  Advertising  Agent  67 
Advertising  and  the  Consumer 

Advertising  and  the  Retailer  103 

Advertising  and  the  Jobber  133 

The  Results  of  Advertising  145 

' ' Reasons' '  for  Not  A dvertising  1  (>  7 

Getting  the  Facts  at  First  Hand  177 

The  Future  of  Advertising  193 

PART  II 

Prefatory  Note  207 

Ten  Million  Dollars  a  Year  209 

Advertising  to  Women  229 

Advertising  to  Business  Men  21^3 

Advertising  to  Farmers  263 

A  Monument  to  Advertising  275 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Frontispiece 

Familiar  trade-marks  15 

A  famous  advertisement  19 

Boston  News-Letter  26 

A  striking  Leyendecker  21 

Advertisements  from  the  Spectator,  1711  29 

Twenty  years  ago,  and  today  35 

Contrasts  in  clothing  copy  37 

Schools  advertising  for  students  41 

Mail-order  copy  4? 

Business  of  100  leading  retail  stores  (chart)  49 

The  channels  of  demand  53 

Organization  of  a  sales  department  (chart)  59 

American  advertising  abroad  63 

An  advertising  agency  organization  (chart)  66 

Making  the  mouth  water  71 

An  effective  package  75 

Daring  use  of  space  79 

The  news  type  of  advertisement  87 

True  general  advertising  89 

Infringements  of  a  well-known  trade-mark  93 


Types  of  return  coupons  99 

How  to  check  mail-order  results  (chart)  101 

Volume  of  retail  business  by  sections  (chart)  106 

Volume  of  retail  business  by  sections  (table)  107 

Retail  service  111 

The  trade-mark  in  the  window  113 

Window  display  prepared  by  manufacturer  118 

A  well-known  window  display  121 

Action  in  the  dealer's  window  123 

Display  with  simultaneous  demonstration  125 

Newspaper  use  of  national  advertising  127 

Listing  the  names  of  retailers  129 

The  jobbing  of  textiles  (chart)  135 

A  much  discussed  advertisement  139 

Attitudes  toward  advertising  (chart)  141 

Heart-throbs  in  the  sausage  business  147 

Educative  advertising  that  succeeded  151 

Inspiration  155 

The  pull  of  the  consumer  157 

Advertising  to  the  dealer  165 

Advertising  a  staple  171 

Costs  of  retail  business  (chart)  178 

Costs  of  retail  business  (table)  179 


Manufacture  of  farm  implements  (map)  185 

Fac-simile  page  from  a  notable  report  189 

A  new  note  192 

Frankness  from  a  corporation  197 

How  the  telephone  company  advertises  201 

Population  growth  of  United  States  (map)  211 

Circulation-getting  literature  217 

Stock  for  ten  million  publications  a  month  219 

Human-interest  copy  223 

In  the  shadow  of  the  Coliseum  231 

And  of  the  Sphinx  233 

Going  after  dealers  239 

First  issue  of  a  185-year-old  periodical  21>5 

In  the  streets  of  Tokio  21tf 

The  value  of  a  trade-mark  251 

Concentration  of  farm  implement  manu- 
facture (chart)  259 

Merchandizing  farm  implements  (chart)  265 

A  modern  pressroom  271 

A  monument  to  advertising  21 '4 

A  Curtis  advertisement  277 

Improving  the  effectiveness  of  cuts  279 
Suggestion  through  illustration 


PART  ONE 


I 

Advertising  Today 

IN  the  year  1759  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  wrote 
in  his  weekly  Idler:  "The  trade  of  adver- 
tising is  now  so  near  to  perfection  that  it  is 
not  easy  to  propose  any  improvement." 

That  was  a  century  and  a  half  ago.  Advertising 
meant  announcements  a  few  lines  long — a  fresh 
cargo  of  tea  in  from  the  East,  or  a  new  book  in  the 
stalls.  And  advertising  was  "a  perfected  trade." 

In  the  twentieth  century,  a  certain  company 
which  manufactured  coal  tar  products  wanted  to 
advertise  them.  Coal-tar  pitch  and  felt  are  used 
in  the  laying  of  the  familiar  "tar  and  gravel"  roof. 
Now  such  a  roof  cannot  be  bought  ready  made. 
It  must  be  laid  on  the  job  by  a  local  builder  or 
roofer.  Which  is  not  only  the  reason  why  it  was 
difficult  to  advertise,  but  is  also  the  reason  why  it 
was  desirable  to  advertise. 

Roofers  had  many  different  ideas  about  the 
right  way  to  lay  a  roof.  The  result  was  that  there 
was  no  generally  accepted  standard  for  the  use  of 
coal-tar  roofing  materials.  Some  builders  found 
the  roof  an  easy  place  to  save  a  little  money,  be- 
cause a  cheaply  laid  roof  did  not  give  itself  away 
until  after  the  weather  had  had  a  chance  at  it. 

13 


Roofs  were,  therefore,  not  as  well  made  as  they 
might  be.  The  manufacturers  suffered  from  not 
selling  as  many  materials  as  they  should,  and  the 
public  suffered  through  not  knowing  how  to  get 
the  best  results  from  the  materials  used. 

This  was  the  problem  which  advertising  was 
expected  to  solve.  The  firm  sought  far  and  wide 
for  advice  and  everywhere  met  with  discourage- 
ment. Then  a  certain  advertising  man  was  called 
in.  He  went  on  the  road  for  two  months,  inter- 
viewing nearly  500  builders,  architects,  dealers, 
workmen,  and  came  back  to  report — no  plan. 

Soon  after,  this  advertising  man  was  attacked 
by  a  malarial  fever,  of  which,  after  many  courses 
of  treatment  had  failed,  he  was  cured  by  a  pre- 
scription filled  at  a  drug  store  nearby.  He  was 
curious  to  know  what  the  remedy  was.  He  was 
told  "When  Henry  M.  Stanley  went  into  Africa 
to  find  Livingston,  his  party  was  harassed  by 
fevers.  The  physician  of  the  party  then  and  there 
discovered  a  certain  specific  which  was  success- 
ful in  combating  these  fevers.  When  he  returned, 
he  gave  the  prescription  to  the  world.  It  has  been 
accepted  by  medical  science  and  appears  in 
various  pharmacopoeias.  All  doctors  know  how  to 
write  it  and  it  can  be  filled  by  any  druggist.  It  is 
that  prescription  which  cured  you." 

That  night  the  advertising  man  had  his  idea. 
He  conceived  the  plan  of  a  standard  prescription 
14 


Trade-marks  representing  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  good-will 


for  laying  tar  and  gravel  roofs,  which  any  owner 
or  architect  could  specify  and  which  any  roofer 
could  follow,  buying  his  materials  from  any 
builder.  Roofs  laid  according  to  such  a  specifica- 
tion would  be  laid  right  and  would  last  as  good 
tar  and  gravel  roofs  should. 

It  was  easy  to  find  such  a  prescription.  En- 
gineers and  architects  were  consulted  and  the 
best  methods  and  proportions  of  materials  set 
down  in  black  and  white.  And  so,  after  some 
hesitancy  it  was  decided  to  advertise  "The  Bar- 
rett Specification."  This  specification  did  not  call 
for  materials  made  by  the  Barrett  Company. 
That  would  have  been  fatal.  There  were  other 
materials  on  the  market,  as  architects  and  builders 
knew,  and  to  limit  the  requirements  to  the  goods 
of  any  one  manufacturer  would  have  excited  sus- 
picion that  there  was  an  axe  to  grind.  The  Bar- 
rett Company  handled  so  large  a  proportion  of 
the  coal  tar  that  it  could  afford  to  promote  the 
whole  industry,  allowing  competitors  to  reap  a 
share  of  the  advantage,  and  further,  the  fact  that 
the  name  Barrett  was  attached  to  the  specification 
would  naturally  suggest  Barrett  materials. 

The  sum  of  $12,000  was  appropriated  for  the 
first  year's  advertising — advertising  not  of  a  par- 
ticular product,  but  of  a  method,  calculated  to  re- 
sult in  a  good  job.  Advertisements  were  placed  in 
trade  and  technical  papers  going  to  architects 
16 


and  engineers,  and  in  one  publication  of  wide 
general  circulation  to  reach  the  consumer.  Circu- 
lar letters  and  other  mail  matter  y^ere  sent  to 
architects  and  builders. 

Such  men  are  quick  to  adopt  any  plan  based, 
asvthis  was,  on  scientific  methods.  They  gladly 
tried  the  specification,  and  finding  that  it  pro- 
duced better  and  longer  lasting  roofs,  used  it 
again.  The  increase  in  the  consumption  of  coal 
tar  roofing  materials  was  noticeable. 

A  few  years  later  architects  and  engineers  be- 
gan to  ask :  "How  can  we  be  sure  of  getting  stand- 
ard materials?  Why  don't  you  supply  them  with 
the  name  'Barrett'  on  them,  as  a  guarantee  that 
they  are  what  the  specification  calls  for?" 

Thus  the  "Barrett  Specification"  brands  were 
introduced  and  the  campaign  rounded  out.  To- 
day, while  there  are  many  specifications  that  do 
not  call  for  the  "brands,"  there  are  very  few  that 
do  not  bear  the  earmarks  of  that  campaign,  either 
in  the  weight  and  quantity  of  materials  or  the 
method  of  application.  And  so  a  great  improve- 
ment in  the  conditions  of  the  coal-tar  roofing  in- 
dustry was  brought  about. 

The  same  method  was  applied  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  other  specialties  in  which  coal  tar  was 
used.  Today  the  campaign,  which  began  with 
$12,000,  has  been  enlarged  to  the  extent  of  a 
quarter  of  a  million  dollars  a  year.  And  it  is  worth 

17 


while  to  note  that  whereas  in  England  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  coal  tar  is  directly  or  indirectly 
used  for  fuel  purposes,  in  America  only  a  very  small 
proportion  is  so  used,  and  in  no  year  more  than 
five  per  cent. 

What  then,  has  advertising  done  in  this  case? 
First,  it  corrected  a  condition  in  the  business  of 
a  group  of  manufacturers  who  were  suffering  be- 
cause of  the  misuse  of  their  product.  Second,  it 
found  a  way  to  make  sure  that  owners  of  buildings 
would  get  good  roofs  instead  of  poor  ones.  Third, 
it  increased  the  use,  for  an  economical  and  a  bene- 
ficial purpose,  of  a  product  which  in  other  coun- 
tries is  used  for  less  valuable  purposes. 
And  it  was  an  advertising  man  who  devised  the 
plan  by  which  this  was  accomplished. 

Certainly,  advertising  has  gone  far  since  the 
days  of  Samuel  Johnson. 

Now,  it  is  estimated  $600,000,000  annually  is 
spent  in  this  country  on  printed  advertising. 

Advertising  has  taught  us  to  cook  without  fire, 
to  sweep  without  brooms,  to  make  music  with  a 
disk,  to  add  up  figures  by  machinery.  It  has  fitted 
us  to  ready-made  clothing.  It  has  sold  us  automo- 
biles. It  has  revolutionized  our  breakfast  table.  It 
has  trained  a  nation  to  new  labor-saving,  time- 
saving,  money-saving  habits  and  desires.  It  has 
raised  merchandizing  standards  to  a  high  degree 
of  honesty.  It  has  taught  the  consumer  where  to 
18 


PEARS'  SOAP 

Beautifies  the  complexion,  keeps  the  hands  white  and  imparts  a  constant 
bloom  of  freshness  to  the  skin. 


A  famous  advertisement,  painted  by  Sir  John  Millais,  R.A. 


look  for  quality,  and  how  to  know  quality  when 
he  sees  it. 

Yet  in  these  days  of  brilliant  achievement  even 
its  most  skilled  exponents  refuse  to  consider  ad- 
vertising as  anywhere  near  perfection.  They  hesi- 
tate even  to  classify  it.  They  don't  know  whether 
to  call  it  a  trade,  a  science,  an  art  or  a  profession. 

We  all  do  know  that  it  has  become  a  great  force 
in  our  national  life.  It  has  developed,  as  some  one 
says,  from  a  timid,  unsystematic  hope-it-  will-pay - 
me  venture  into  one  of  the  greatest  of  commercial 
certainties. 

Its  record  is  so  full  of  convincing  evidence  that 
no  merchant,  no  manufacturer,  large  or  small, 
can  wisely  regard  it  with  indifference.  No  business 
man  should  let  a  rich  by-product  go  to  waste  before 
his  very  eyes.  Neither  should  he  refuse  to  make 
at  least  a  careful  survey  of  the  possibilities  of 
advertising  for  his  particular  use.  Perhaps  he 
may  not  be  able  to  use  it  just  now.  It  is  not  a 
panacea,  and  it  has  reached  that  proud  degree  of 
strength  where  it  need  not  be  treated  as  such. 

You  see  advertising  every  day.  You  know  what 
it  is.  But  can  you  define  it?  Even  those  who 
handle  it  in  the  millions  cannot  phrase  it  briefly. 
We  are  told  that  it  is  "printed  salesmanship" 
"extending  your  neighborhood" —"making  un- 
concerned people  take  notice."  Or—  "Wlien  we 
look  a  fellow-man  straight  in  the  eye,  and  tell  him 

20 


that  we  have  something  that  he  ought  to  possess, 
and  ask  him  to  buy  it,  that  is  advertising." 

Advertising  sells  a  certain  thing  to  a  certain 
person,  once.  But  it  does  more.  It  makes,  if  the 
goods  are  worthy,  a  more  or  less  permanent  cus- 
tomer out  of  that  person.  It  creates  good-will.  It 
promises  him  that  he  can  come  round  and  get  the 
same  thing  again.  It  gives  that  thing  an  added 
value  in  his  eyes.  It  guarantees  a  degree  of  quality 
that  he  could  not  be  sure  of  finding  in  some  name- 
less brand.  It  spurs  the  maker  and  all  who  work 
for  him,  to  do  their  level  best  to  hold  up  or  improve 
the  standard.  It  dignifies.  It  educates  whole  com- 
munities to  new  needs  and  new  pleasures. 

Advertising  is  not  only  printing  things  in  mag- 
azines, newspapers,  circulars,  booklets.  It  is  hang- 
ing a  shingle  from  your  office  window,  tacking  a 
card  in  a  street  car,  pasting  a  poster  on  the  side 
of  a  barn,  sprawling  twenty-foot  letters  across  the 
face  of  a  cliff,  flashing  colored  lights  against  the 
night  sky.  It  is  building  the  biggest  ocean  liner, 
giving  organ  recitals  in  your  department  store, 
sending  up  balloons.  It  is  making  speeches,  going 
on  a  hunting  trip  through  Africa,  or  always  wear- 
ing a  carnation  in  your  buttonhole. 

Advertising  is  making  folks  take  notice  of  what 
you  are  or  what  you  do  or  what  you  have,  the 
idea  being  to  get  them,  at  some  later  period,  to  do 
something  that  you  want  them  to  do.  It  may  be 

21 


to  elect  you  President  of  the  United  States.  It 
may  be  to  buy  your  make  of  toothpick. 

The  paths  of  publicity  are  myriad  and  devious. 
But  the  one  perhaps  most  lately  blazed,  and 
which  has  made  good  as  the  chief  high  road  to 
success,  is  printed  advertising  in  nationally  read 
periodicals.  Ask  the  first  man  you  meet  what  pic- 
tures rise  in  his  mind  when  you  say  "  advertis- 
ing." Nine  out  of  ten  will  see  the  Gold  Dust 
Twins,  the  Victor  Dog,  a  layered  mattress,  the 
Quaker,  the  Cream  of  Wheat  Chef,  the  Dutch 
Painter  Boy,  the  Old  Dutch  Cleanser  Woman,  or 
some  other  figure  made  pleasantly  familiar  by  the 
pages  of  the  widely  read  periodicals  of  the  day. 

The  basic  reason  for  national  magazine  adver- 
tising lies  in  the  fact  that  the  commercial  objective 
of  today  is  immense  production  on  a  narrow  margin 
of  profit.  To  sell  such  a  volume  of  goods  wide  dis- 
tribution is  necessary.  Advertising  is  the  natural 
method  by  which  to  reach  large  masses  of  people. 
The  economical  way  to  advertise  to  the  mass  of 
our  population  in  all  parts  of  the  country  is  in 
nationally  circulated  periodicals.  They  are  the 
solid  bed-rock  upon  which  great  advertising  struct- 
ures are  reared.  Upon  this  foundation  rests  the 
more  intensive  work  of  newspaper,  booklet  and 
other  "follow-up"  publicity. 

This  volume  will  trace  the  selling  forces  gener- 
ated by  advertising  in  national  periodicals. 

22 


II 

The  Development  of  Advertising 

NATIONAL  advertising  is  a  development, 
not  a  discovery.  It  is  not  a  fad,  but  a 
natural  outgrowth  of  economic  condi- 
tions. Hundreds  of  manufacturers  who  feel  its  in- 
fluence in  competitive  enterprise  do  not  even  yet 
perceive  that  it  is  nothing  less  than  the  inevitable. 

Just  after  the  Civil  War  our  people  gave  vent 
to  their  pent-up  energies  by  populating  the  West, 
opening  up  mines,  and  laying  railroad  tracks  to- 
ward the  Pacific.  Then  came  the  spread  of  indus- 
try, great  factories  beginning  to  rise  up  beyond 
the  hills,  wresting  the  monopoly  of  manufacture 
from  the  East.  Volume  grew.  Competition  strength- 
ened. Profits  diminished.  The  manufacturer  who 
was  to  win  must  have  greater  inventive  genius 
than  his  rival,  and  must  be  quicker  to  adopt  new 
devices. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century  the 
new  conditions  crystallized.  Manufacturing  had 
become  a  fine  art.  Distribution  and  selling,  little 
understood,  offered  new  scope  to  genius  in  com- 
petition. No  longer  was  it  a  problem  solely  of 
manufacture,  with  an  eager  public  waiting  to 
consume.  It  became  necessary  to  find  ways  of 

23 


reaching  more  effectively  and  more  quickly  great 
masses  of  customers.  Advertising  offered  the  way, 
and  that  it  was  seized  upon  is  a  tribute  to  the 
wisdom  of  American  manufacturers.  An  economic 
need  had  arisen  which  had  to  be  met  if  progress 
were  to  continue.  The  growth  of  advertising  since 
1900  is  sufficient  testimony  to  the  correctness  of 
the  solution. 

The  development  finally  brought  about  the 
transfer  of  advertising  activity  from  the  hands  of 
those  whose  products  were  non-essential,  to  the 
hands  of  those  who  manufacture  the  most  staple 
necessities  of  our  national  life.  Many  of  the  early 
advertisers  of  modern  times  had  been  charlatans, 
selling  goods  which,  because  they  were  worthless, 
were  best  sold  at  long  distance.  Incidentally  they 
made  fortunes  by  it.  But  a  minority  of  honest  ad- 
vertisers, in  those  early  days,  formed  the  nucleus 
around  which  was  built  the  solid  structure  of 
today. 

Advertising  itself  is  as  old  as  property.  People 
have  always  had  to  let  other  people  know  what 
they  had  for  barter  or  sale. 

Johnson,  who  in  1759  declared  that  the  trade 
of  advertising  had  reached  perfection,  wrote  in 
the  same  essay : 

"The  man  who  first  took  advantage  of  the 
general  curiosity  that  was  excited  by  a  siege  or 
battle  to  betray  the  readers  of  news  into  the 
24 


II II 

111 

« w -I  ^^  l_g'^J fc  8  S  ..a "s 


•*^5  TS        fr5?  «^   fi    «    »w    tf  fjr  i    <U 

j««  5j»^'s-8  fcs's  8 
^s-a  a'sgBS^S-s 

Q  -yi  iB      T5  B  ^  ««*»  w  ^ .  H 
^=3§      ^8gSsff> 

^  *»3  «25         '        f    «**    .      ~    S3    5»    SS 


knowledge  of  the  shop  where  the  best  puffs  and 
powder  were  to  be  sold  was  undoubtedly  a  man 
of  great  sagacity  and  profound  skill  in  the  nature 
of  men." 

There  is  said  to  be  in  the  British  Museum  a  bit 
of  papyrus  3,000  years  old  bearing  the  advertise- 
ment of  an  Egyptian  land-owner  for  the  return 
of  a  runaway  slave — the  oldest  advertisement 
extant.*  On  the  walls  of  disinterred  Pompeii  still 
stand  the  announcements  of  baths  and  other  ap- 
peals for  patronage,  and  down  through  history  we 
find  occasional  traces  of  an  understanding  of  the 
possibilities  of  publicity  in  print. 

But  advertising  could  not  really  get  a  start  so 
long  as  a  majority  of  people  were  illiterate.  In 
1642  there  were  400  town  criers  in  Paris.  Because 
the  Parisians  of  the  day  were  unable  to  read,  they 
had  to  have  their  advertising  shouted  at  them. 

The  first  miscellaneous  newspaper  advertise- 
ments of  which  we  have  record  appeared  in  a 
Dutch  newspaper  dated  November  21,  1623.  A 
treatise  by  John  Milton  "On  the  best  means  to 
remove  hirelings  from  the  church  "  was  advertised 
in  London  in  1652. 

Addison  wrote  in  1711,  "It  is  my  custom  in  a 
Dearth  of  News  to  entertain  myself  with  those 

*  For  historical  information  in  this  chapter,  acknowledgment  is  made 
to  "Ads  and  Sales,"  by  Herbert  N.  Casson,  and  to  "Forty  Years  an  Ad- 
vertising Agent,"  by  George  P.  Rowell. 

26 


collections  of  advertisements  that  appear  at  the 
End  of  all  publick  Prints."  Addison's  own  Spec- 
tator was  a  good  medium,  circulating  as  it  did 
among  the  elite  of  London,  and  provoking  end- 
less discussion  at  the  coffee-houses. 

In  America  the  earliest  advertising — like  the 
ancient  Egyptian  relic — was  for  the  return  of 
runaway  slaves,  and  the  trading  companies  also 
advertised  indentured  labor.  In  the  first  issue  of 
the  first  American  newspaper,*  in  1704,  appeared 
a  publisher's  notice  soliciting  what  we  now  know 
as  "classified  advertising."  By  1776  there  were 
thirteen  newspapers  in  the  United  States,  among 
them  Benjamin  Franklin's  Pennsylvania  Ga- 
zette, which  later  became  The  Saturday  Evening 
Post.  These  carried  a  moderate  amount  of  adver- 
tising. 

"But,  like  every  other  unknown  force,  adver- 
tising was  at  first  looked  upon  with  suspicion," 
says  H.  N.  Casson.  "It  was  penalized  as  though 
it  were  half  a  crime.  As  late  as  1836,  in  England, 
there  was  a  tax  of  eighty-four  cents  on  every  ad- 
vertisement. Even  in  the  United  States,  sixty 
years  ago,  it  was  held  to  be  dishonorable  for  a 
merchant  to  entice  a  customer  away  from  another 
merchant.  The  prevailing  idea  was  that  taking 
away  another  man's  customers  was  like  putting 
your  hand  in  his  till  and  taking  away  his  money." 

"The  Boston  News  Letter.  See  page  24. 
28 


of  3  tie.  Note,  The  BuyeV*  arc  denied  io  appear  punctually  at  the 
B©»r  appointed,  the  Sale  being  to  be  com  pleated  without  adjourning, 

ALargeBrickHoufe.  with  a  Tarrafe  and  Back-dooy 
**u  '9L.  JBBimS  HtrW,HMIff%M'lfoW 

Ground*  ttow  5r>  the  Tenor  of  the  Honourable  Robert  Benfon,  Eta- 
the  toft  Hovfein  Qween  ftreH,  on  the  RightHand,  i*to  be  fold.  It>- 
<ju»re  «t  Mr,  Ssyaes,  at  tne  Golden  Stiff  in  Pye  Corner  neap  W«ft- 
fYT»ith  field. 

Mr.  John  Warter,  wlio  formerly  taught  the  Court 

Hand  in  the  Qy^en's  Bench  Office  in  thfelnner  Temple)  now  continues 
(0  Teach  the  fame  in  a  very  «xa£t  manner  >  Co  as  the  Scholar  in  three 
W<?«k3  t>m«  /H»H  be  f>f  for  BuGrefs  (hts  eonftanl  Acterj<Jance  being 
only  4*Ared)  afchis  Chambers  4hre*  pair  of  Stairs*  ov«r  Froch0n»tary 
Barret's  Office  in  th«  Temple  Walks  ftt  ail  Hourj  of  the  Day.  He  atfo 
exemplifies  Recoveries,  Sec. 

Dropfc  b/  a  Servant  out  of  a  Parcel  on  MomJay  the 

i^th  Inft*nt  in  the  Morning,  going  from  MarK-lane  to  Chick-lane 
nerr  Smith  field,  or  from  th«nce  to  Devonfhire-frrtet  near  Red-Lyon- 
S^uare,  or  from  thence  to  the  Hew  Exchange  in  the  Strand,  two 
pieces  of  Lace  about  an  Inch  broad,  containing  8  or  j  Yards  in  a  Piece  : 
Whoever  brings  the  fame  to  Charles  X.ilHe'4;  the  corner  of  BeaufordL 
Building*  in  th«  Strand,  fhaH  receive  one  Guinea  reward. 

Lofton  Sunday  the  nth  Inftant,  in  or  near  St. 
john'ji  Church  in  Hackney,  two  Gold  Watch  Cafes;  if  the  Cam*  are 
brought  to  Daniel  X>e)ander  in  Devoreux  Court  by  the  Middle  Temple, 
Watchmaker,  without  any  Qycftions  to  be  asked  they  (hail  receive  3 
Guinea*  reward  for  each,  or  if  either  of  them  proportionable.  N.  E. 
There  U  a  r>ew  Invention  by  the  faid  Daniel  JDelander  of  a  Spring^ 
vhJch  is  very  neatly  fixed  to  the  inftd*  of  theCafe>  which  prevents 
the  Cafe  to  be  either  loft  or  ftohl 

Verdier's  Hummumsis  in  Bel  ton-fir  ee     at  te 


ons  maypr»vAt«- 

Jyb«  Sweated,  Bathed  or  Cupped  with  the  Tame  InHrumerji  he  him  - 
(elf  Brft  Invented,  and  exceeds  all  other*,  and  is  uf«d  no  where  «lf« 
but  at  the  faid  Widow  Verdier's,  tho'  fev.eral  have  and  do  ftiDendtt- 


. 

vour  to  Counterfeit  tht  Tame.  AUPerfonj  who  dcfjre  to  be  Cupped  afc 
their  own  Houfe»>  fhaU  be  care  fully  attended  by  Her  Partner  {aQ«iman) 
XtanUlHahn,  who  hwpra&ifed  itthefemanyYearapaft,  not  as  it  is  mar 
liciouOy  reported  the  Houfeis  Jeft  off. 

A  Child  ofrninej  reduced  under  extream   SufTer- 

bg»  and  Banger*,  by  the  Violent  breeding  of  hb  T**ih,  Received 
Immediate  help  on^y  by  Rufebingv  his  G«m$  with  a  R«m«dy  I  had  of 
Mr.  Perronet  Surgeon  in  Dyot  ftrettt  Btaotmbury,  \vh«irem>on  he 
Cut  fever*!  Teeth,  with  aburfance  of  Eafe  and  Salety.  Witn«&  my 
Hand,  Abraham  ?op«,  in  White  Lion  Court,  Pteetflreet,  CoUfmith. 
i&.Sold  at  2  s.  6  d.  p.«rVi'al>  by  .the'  Author  aforaajd»  Mr' 


Advertisements  from^Addisons  "'  Spectator.  ^^ 

Found"  curative  with  testimonials  ,  real  estate*  etc. 


About  1840  newspapers  began  to  spring  up 
everywhere,  and  wise  men  began  to  see  the  vast 
possibilities  of  selling  goods  by  advertising  so  as 
to  reach  many  people  at  once,  using  the  news- 
papers as  the  only  mediums  of  the  time. 

The  patent-medicine  makers  were  the  first  great 
advertisers.  Publicity  was  the  chief  factor  in  sell- 
ing their  wares.  The  more  widely  they  advertised 
the  more  they  sold.  Many  of  these  men  were  un- 
principled, many  of  their  medicines  pure — or  im- 
pure— fakes,  and  their  ways  of  doing  business 
were  dark  and  dishonest.  The  newspaper  proprie- 
tors responded  in  turn,  and  for  a  long  time  it  was 
on  both  sides  simply  a  problem  of  getting  as  much 
as  possible — for  your  money  or  your  space. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War,  it  is  said,  the 
largest  and  most  daring  expenditure  was  $3000 
for  one  advertisement,  which  appeared  in  the  New 
York  Tribune  and  other  newspapers.  Strangely 
enough,  this  was  not  for  a  patent  medicine;  it  was 
for  Fairbank's  scales.  This  was  one  of  the  earliest 
indications  of  the  magnificent  future  of  legitimate 
publicity. 

The  United  States  Government  wras  among  the 
first  to  undertake  a  national  advertising  cam- 
paign. In  1864  Jay  Cooke,  appointed  by  Lincoln 
to  sell  war  bonds,  advertised  in  every  good  paper 
in  the  North.  He  sold  bonds  to  the  amount  of 
$1,240,000,000. 

30 


Just  after  the  war  patent-medicine  advertising 
reached  the  splendid  zenith  of  its  optimism.  For- 
tunes were  made.  Fortunes  were  also  lost.  Turner's 
Tic  Doloreux  and  Neuralgia  Pills  wouldn't  sell 
even  after  $400,000  had  been  put  into  advertis- 
ing them. 

Robert  Bonner,  publisher  of  the  New  York 
Ledger,  was  the  first  sensational  advertiser.  He 
spent  as  high  as  $27,000  in  one  week  to  announce 
the  fact  that  Edward  Everett  was  writing  for  his 
paper.  Bonner  used  to  say  that  having  accumu- 
lated all  the  money  he  could  find  and  thrown  it 
into  advertising,  before  he  could  get  back  to  his 
office  it  would  be  there  again — and  a  lot  more 
with  it.  Pierre  Lorillard  built  a  fortune  of  $20,- 
000,000  by  advertising;  in  1868  this  firm  was  sell- 
ing $5,000,000  worth  of  tobacco  and  snuff  yearly. 

Meanwhile,  advertising  was  being  transformed 
from  a  retail  to  a  wholesale  business.  About  1847 
the  advertising  agent  came.  He  brought  system. 
Many  years  later  he  brought  service.  He  began 
as  a  broker  of  space.  His  first  function  was  to 
induce  the  manufacturers  to  advertise.  His  second 
was  to  place  their  advertisements  with  newspa- 
pers anywhere,  getting  whatever  price  he  could 
and  buying  the  new  spaper  space  as  low  as  he  could. 
Sometimes  the  agent  received  as  much  as  50  per 
cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  space  for  his  share  in  the 
transaction. 

31 


W.  B.  Palmer,  S.  M.  Pettingill  and  George  P. 
Rowell  are  remembered  as  among  the  most  nota- 
ble of  the  early  agents.  The  last  named  was  the 
first  to  secure  complete  lists  of  papers  for  cover- 
ing a  given  territory,  and  the  first  to  estimate  the 
cost  of  space  and  to  render  some  of  the  service 
which  later  became  characteristic  of  the  general 
agencies.  The  larger  development  of  this  service 
did  not  come  until  after  advertising  had  ap- 
proached more  nearly  an  exact  science,  and  until 
the  great  national  publications  arrived. 

The  magazine  as  an  advertising  medium  de- 
veloped slowly  during  this  early  period.  Maga- 
zine advertising  consisted  chiefly  of  announce- 
ments of  books  issued  by  the  same  publishers, 
and  of  a  few  small  cards  for  novelties  of  one  kind 
or  another.  A  page  or  two  an  issue  was  a  credit- 
able showing  up  to  the  60's.  Godey's  Lady  Book 
and  Peterson's,  leading  publications  of  the  time, 
each  had  on  its  back  cover  a  full  page  of  The  At- 
lantic and  Pacific  Tea  Company.  Other  than  this, 
they  had  between  them  only  a  quarter  of  a  page 
of  general  advertising. 

J.  Walter  Thompson,  entering  in  1864  a  field 
crowded  with  newspaper  advertising  agents  and 
newspaper  solicitors,  soon  determined  to  be  a 
general  advertising  agent.  He  was  the  first  to  urge 
the  advantage  of  advertising  in  the  magazines, 
and  found  that  the  idea  was  favorably  received 

32 


by  manufacturers  who  had  previously  been  using 
only  the  newspapers.  For  the  Christmas  issue  of 
Peterson's,  in  1868,  he  sent  in  orders  for  twenty- 
four  pages  in  addition  to  the  second  and  third 
covers.  Mr.  Peterson  protested  vigorously,  saying 
that  he  printed  only  ninety-six  pages,  and  that 
his  literary  space  was  being  encroached  upon. 
Mr.  Thompson  replied  with  a  suggestion  that 
more  pages  be  added,  at  which  Mr.  Peterson  ex- 
claimed, "But  think  of  the  cost!"  The  advertis- 
ing was  printed.  Harper's  Weekly,  however,  was 
at  this  time  getting  $35  an  inch  for  its  back  page. 
Harper's  Magazine  was  then  solely  a  medium  for 
advertising  the  Harper  books,  and  in  the  early  70's 
Fletcher  Harper  refused  $18,000  offered  by  the 
New  Home  Sewing  Machine  Company  for  the  use 
of  the  back  page  for  a  year. 

The  first  food  advertising  appeared  in  1870, 
and  breakfast  foods — later  very  large  users  of 
space — were  first  exploited  in  1872,  although  con- 
sistent advertising  of  breakfast  foods  did  not  be- 
gin until  twenty  years  later. 

Not,  however,  until  toward  the  end  of  the  cen- 
tury wTas  there  any  national  market,  and  until 
there  was  a  national  market  advertising  as  we 
know  it  today  not  only  was  unnecessary  but  was 
out  of  the  question. 

The  first  period  in  the  growth  of  advertising  be- 
gan with  the  coming  of  literacy. 

33 


The  second  with  the  multiplication  of  newspa- 
pers. 

The  third  with  the  development  of  transconti- 
nental transportation. 

When  facilities  for  the  speedy  and  thorough 
distribution  of  both  goods  and  publications  ar- 
rived, the  day  of  the  magazine  and  magazine  ad- 
vertising was  at  hand. 

The  Ladies'  Home  Journal,  which  was  destined 
to  revolutionize  the  magazinebusiness,was  started 
in  1883,  and  in  three  years  had  400,000  subscribers. 
In  October,  1893,  Frank  A.  Munsey  reduced  the 
price  of  his  magazine  to  ten  cents  a  copy,  the  first 
venture  of  the  kind.  The  circulation  responded  at 
once,  going  in  a  short  time  from  20,000  to  more 
than  half  a  million. 

The  owners  of  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  in 
1897  purchased  The  Saturday  Evening  Post, 
which  had  been  published  continuously  for  169 
years.  It  then  had  a  circulation  of  3,000.  Ten  years 
later  this  publication  passed  the  million  mark,  and 
in  five  years  more,  the  two  million. 

Other  periodicals  developed  with  rapidity  al- 
most as  striking,  and  by  1910  a  circulation  of 
half  a  million  or  more  was  no  longer  a  rarity. 
The  day  of  giant  circulations  had  come,  and  with 
it  the  day  of  advertising  for  every  sort  of  gener- 
ally used  commodity — clothing,  food,  shelter,  lux- 
uries, conveniences  for  young  and  old,  for  men, 

34 


Yale  Sales  Forecast  A  Volume 

Bigger  Than  The  Bicycle 


BB • 

I 


•  7-  «>  H.  P  Twin,  $275-  F.  O.  B.  Toledo -Yale  5.6  M, P  Singl, 


1 1  The  Yale  To  \burself 

$Wn  .,  > 


Twenty  years  ago,  and  today 


women  and  children;  every  sort  of  goods,  from 
automobiles  to  shoe-strings. 

Thus  at  the  opening  of  the  present  century  ad- 
vertising was  established  as  a  great  force  in  busi- 
ness, worth  the  thought  of  every  manufacturer. 
With  the  widening  of  the  field  came  a  realization 
of  increased  responsibility  on  the  part  of  publish- 
ers. The  majority  of  publishers,  up  to  this  time, 
had  apparently  regarded  their  mediums  as  com- 
mon carriers.  They  accepted  practically  any  sort 
of  advertising  freight  that  was  offered.  Yet  the 
public  was  putting  its  faith  in  the  advertising. 
Wise  publishers  discerned  that  this  confidence 
was  too  precious  to  be  lightly  destroyed.  They 
decided  that  it  was  needful  for  them  to  clean  up 
their  columns. 

A  policy  of  censorship  was  established.  Grad- 
ually, during  the  last  ten  years,  the  code  has  been 
tightened  up,  but  by  no  means  are  all  publications 
in  line.  The  vendor  of  patent  medicines  and  bo- 
nanzas, and  the  advertiser  who  revels  in  brass- 
band  rather  than  brass-tack  statements,  can  still 
find  an  audience.  But  the  wise  and  would-be-per- 
manent publishers  realize  that  to  make  advertising 
more  trustworthy,  and  therefore  more  effective* 
is  of  vital  interest  to  the  advertiser,  the  pub- 
lisher and  the  consumer. 

To  bar  the  coal-black  offender  is  comparatively 
easy.  But  if  advertising  is  to  have  believability,  the 

36 


Unusual  overcoat  styles 

~\\  niKX  you  call  on  a  clothier  who  sclh  our  goods, 
f  T    he  will  show  you  something  new  in  overcoat  stvles.- 

;-;:li ,'  r    -  Full  I)  resx  Suits 


\cv.   features  in  belt-backs  pp| 

>m«   .1  i)r,,m,Ht.H  ttar.irc  it,  ovt-j  lf^ 
CP  h.v.c  the  bdt-btuk  in   on<    -  •  r.«!/: 


Hart   Schaffner   &. 


•BHBBB      .  i      -•:-•--••'-": 

Styles  in  clothing  advertising  have  changed  in  twenty  years 


minor  offenses  of  overexaggeration,  of  misleading 
comparison  and  invidious  statements  should  also 
be  censored.  Competitors  in  business  should  not 
be  permitted  to  engage  in  public  "mud-slinging" 
through  the  columns  of  a  reputable  publication. 
To  illustrate  the  care  with  which  advertising  is 
censored,  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  The  Sat- 
urday Evening  Post  accept  no  advertisements : 

(1)    Of  medical  or  curative  agents  of  any  kind. 
(2}    Of  alcoholic  beverages. 

(3)  Of  subjects  immorally  suggestive. 

(4)  Of  a  nature  unduly  cheap  or  vulgar,  or  that  is 
too  unpleasant  either  in  subject  or  treatment. 

(5)  Of  a  "blind"  character — that  is  to  say,  adver- 
tising which  in  purpose  and  intent  is  obscure 
or  misleading. 

(6)  Of  "free"  articles  unless  the  article  is  actually 
free.  (A  thing  is  not  free  if  the  reader  is  obliged 
to  perform  some  service  or  buy  some  other  ar- 
ticle in  order  to  obtain  it.) 

(7)  Of  a  financial  nature,  if  highly  speculative. 

(8)  "Knocking"  competitors. 

They  do  not  accept  advertising  of  stocks,  un- 
less they  have  proven  earning  power  and  a  good 
market.  Bond  advertising  is  only  acceptable  if 
in  favor  of  a  sound  issue,  put  forth  by  a  bond 
house  of  undoubted  standing,  and  financial  ad- 
vertisers of  all  kinds  must  avoid  the  use  of  the  ex- 
38 


pressions  "absolutely  safe"  or  "absolute  safety" 
as  applying  to  any  investment. 

Nor  is  it  enough  that  an  advertiser  means  well. 
He  must  also  be  in  a  position  financially  and 
otherwise  to  carry  out  his  good  intentions  to  the 
public's  satisfaction. 

As  a  further  development,  some  of  the  leading 
publishers  are  accustomed  to  advise  against  ad- 
vertising which,  while  not  harmful  in  itself,  they 
feel  would  be  unwise  from  the  advertiser's  point 
of  view.  Unless  the  advertisement  is  likely  to  re- 
sult in  profit  to  the  advertiser  it  is  not  desired.* 

This  is  not  wholly  altruistic.  It  is  good  business. 
Apart  from  the  consideration  of  honesty  as  a 
principle  it  is  self-evident  that  such  an  unswerv- 
ing standard  benefits  the  public,  the  advertisers 
and  the  publishers.  Whenever  an  advertisement 
fails  to  produce  results  the  man  who  pays  for  it 
not  only  ceases  to  patronize  the  publication  which 
he  has  been  using,  but  often  loses  faith  in  the 
principle  of  advertising— although  the  article  it- 
self, the  distribution,  the  manner  of  presentation 
or  some  other  important  factor  may  really  have 
been  to  blame.  And  when  the  day  comes  when  all 
advertising  is  strictly  truthful  and  strictly  con- 
structive the  purchasing  public  will  be  quick  to 

*Some  trade  and  technical  papers  will  not  accept  advertising  for 
products  which  are  not  naturally  demanded  by  their  readers  for  office 
or  factory  purposes. 

39 


appreciate  it  and  in  the  response  will  make  all 
advertising  more  profitable. 

Meanwhile,  it  is  significant  that  the  publica- 
tions which  were  pioneers  in  the  strict  supervision 
of  their  advertising  columns  are  today  carrying 
the  heaviest  advertising  of  all. 

Today  there  are  6,000  national  advertisers.  They 
spend  millions.  The  total  expense  of  all  advertising 
is  variously  estimated.  Some  say  a  billion  dollars 
a  year — including  not  merely  printed  but  all  kinds 
of  advertising. 

The  estimate  which  seems  to  be  most  reliable 
is  $616,000,000. 

Says  a  recent  writer:  "The  mightiest  corpora- 
tions are  using  it.  Banks  are  advertising  for  de- 
posits. Universities  are  advertising  for  students. 
Cities  are  advertising  for  citizens.  Churches  are 
advertising  for  converts.  Governments  are  ad- 
vertising for  immigrants.  Whether  we  know  it  or 
not,  advertising  has  become  one  of  our  national 
characteristics." 

Advertising  has  its  faults,  but  they  are  fast 
being  remedied.  It  has  its  limits,  but  they  are 
daily  being  extended.  It  has  its  fakers,  but  they 
are  being  eliminated  by  the  force  of  public  opin- 
ion. It  has  its  failures,  but  we  are  learning  that 
they  are  chargeable  to  the  mistakes  of  men  and 
not  to  the  wavering  of  a  principle.  And  we  are 
learning  how  to  minimize  them. 
40 


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Schools  are  advertising  for  students 


Advertising  is  a  natural  force  because  it  is 
founded  on  the  laws  of  human  nature.  It  cannot 
be  safely  perverted.  It  has  proved  itself,  and  spells 
success  for  those  who  use  it  rightly. 

When  the  era  of  consolidation  in  industry  ar- 
rived many  looked  for  a  serious  lessening  in  the 
volume  of  advertising.  On  the  contrary,  it  forged 
on  more  steadily  than  ever.  Its  application,  in 
greater  or  less  degree,  to  the  operations  of  every 
business  man  today,  is  coming  to  be  more  clearly 
realized;  and  the  results  of  the  realization  will 
strongly  influence  the  future  of  all  merchandizing. 

When  we  consider  that  the  activity  of  today  is 
actually  the  growth  of  a  quarter  century,  the  ac- 
tivity of  a  generation  hence  may  only  be  con- 
jectured. 


Ill 

The  Efficacy  of  Advertising 

WITHIN  ten  years  the  total  circulation 
of  national  publications  has  doubled.  In 
1912  the  leading  57  periodicals  had  a 
combined  circulation  of  21,000,000.  The  total  ex- 
penditure for  advertising  in  these  was  more  than 
twenty -nine  millions  of  dollars. 

The  service  which  these  publications  are  pre- 
pared to  render  is  a  necessity  for  the  manufac- 
turer who  makes  honest  goods,  for  which  there  is 
or  ought  to  be  a  country- wide  demand,  and  who 
would  like  to  sell  them  to  every  man  or  woman 
who  could  use  them  and  pay  for  them. 

If  his  goods  are  not  honest,  he  had  better  not 
advertise.  In  the  first  place,  many  publications 
will  refuse  his  advertising.  In  the  second  place, 
those  which  take  it  will  simply  call  forth  for  him 
a  lot  of  buyers  who,  once  having  tried  his  product 
and  found  it  wanting,  will  thereafter  not  only 
cease  to  buy  his  goods  but  will  actually  be  preju- 
diced against  them.  For  just  as  advertising  makes 
the  merits  of  good  goods  conspicuous,  so,  too, 
does  it  make  conspicuous  the  faults  of  poor  goods. 
The  maker  of  dishonest  products  will  last  longer 
without  advertising. 

43 


In  the  comparatively  brief  period  since  the 
nation  began  to  consult  it  in  its  marketing, 
periodical  advertising  has  created  volumes  of 
evidence  for  its  efficacy.  To  prove  to  your  own 
satisfaction  that  it  is  an  evolution,  a  fundamental 
of  a  large  market,  take  any  well-known  publication 
and  look  through  its  pages. 

Note  first  the  firms  with  years  of  merchandiz- 
ing history  behind  them — Pears,  Ivory,  Royal, 
Waltham,  Regal,  Lowney,  Ingersoll,  Apollinaris 
—firms  whose  advertising  has  covered  decades. 

Then  note  how  many  commodities  there  are 
which  have  recently  been  invented  and  have 
quickly  found  place  in  every-day  life  by  the  help 
of  advertising — automobiles,  vacuum  cleaners, 
electric  irons,  talking  machines,  rubber  heels, 
bread  mixers,  kodaks,  washing  machines. 

Then  see  how  many  of  the  great  staples  of  life 
are  being  persistently  advertised — flour,  sugar, 
clothing,  shoes,  furniture,  roofing,  varnish,  starch. 

If  you  still  need  further  evidence — if  you  want 
the  real  stories  of  success — make  a  personal  trip 
to  interview  some  of  these  successful  advertisers 
and  get  their  experiences  from  their  own  lips. 

Nippers  and  pliers  would  not  suggest  them- 
selves as  especially  susceptible  to  popular  adver- 
tising, and  yet  Utica  pliers,  after  years  of  un- 
branded  distribution  through  agents,  were  placed 
on  the  market  under  their  new  name  and  adver- 

44 


tised.  A  $4,000  expenditure  in  one  publication  in 
six  months  brought  50  per  cent,  more  business  than 
the  company  had  done  during  the  previous  six 
months  under  their  old  selling  plan.  At  the  end 
of  two  years  they  could  not  keep  up  with  their 
orders,  and  are  now  extending  their  plant. 

A  great  food-product  company  ten  years  ago 
spent  $3,000  in  two  publications.  The  results 
were  so  satisfactory  that  last  year  this  company 
spent  $113,500  in  the  same  two  publications 
alone.  The  experience  in  each  of  those  ten  years 
must  have  been  satisfactory  to  bring  about  an 
aggregate  increase  of  four  thousand  per  cent* 

Such  returns  as  are  brought  by  these  expendi- 
tures in  national  periodical  advertising  come  in 
several  ways.  (1)  The  reader  may  be  impelled  to 
write  to  the  manufacturer,  enclosing  his  money  for 
the  article  advertised.  That  is  mail-order  adver- 
tising. (2)  He  may  be  sent  to  the  retail  store,  which 
will  in  anticipation  or  in  consequence  of  the  de- 
mand stock  the  article,  buying  either  direct  from 
the  manufacturer  or  from  a  jobber.  Or  (3)  the 
advertising  may  be  planned  essentially  to  interest 
a  wide  circle  of  dealers  in  selling  the  product. 
This  last  is  commonly  called  "influencing  the 
dealer." 

*  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  company  makes  its  appropriation  for  ad- 
vertising each  year  strictly  according  to  the  total  business  of  the  previous 
twelve  months,  increasing  or  decreasing  it  pro  rata. 

45 


Here  is  a  case  of  a  typical  mail-order  business. 
It  sells  clothing  to  women  exclusively  by  advertis- 
ing in  the  magazines.  It  has  no  agencies  what- 
ever, and  never  sells  to  retailers.  Twenty-one  years 
ago  this  firm  started  with  a  $300  appropriation 
for  advertising.  Its  policy  was  a  new  one — to  fit 
clothing  to  women  without  even  seeing  the  women. 
The  idea  itself  was  ridiculed,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
plan  of  using  advertising  as  the  sole  selling  force. 
Today  that  firm  has  a  mailing  list  of  6,000,000 
women.  It  receives  5,000,000  letters  a  year — has 
received  as  high  as  37,000  in  one  day.  It  uses  more 
than  $90,000  worth  of  fabrics  annually  for  samples 
sent  to  inquirers.  It  ships  out  considerably  more 
than  a  million  packages  a  year — spends  $520,000 
for  postage,  $460,000  for  expressage.  It  maintains 
five  printing  shops  just  to  turn  out  its  catalogs, 
and  keeps  seventeen  clerks,  under  bond,  to  do 
nothing  but  open  mail.  The  annual  investment  of 
this  firm  in  periodical  advertising  is  now  $350,000. 
This  is  an  instance  of  success  due  not,  as  many 
successes  are,  to  a  combination  of  advertising  with 
other  good  sales  methods,  but  wholly  to  adver- 
tising— backed,  of  course,  by  consistently  good 
goods. 

An  example  of  a  "small-space"  mail-order  suc- 
cess is  that  of  Elmer  C.  Rice,  of  Mel  rose,  Mas- 
sachusetts. He  began  in  1900  with  a  one-inch 
"card"  in  two  periodicals  and  one  Sunday  news- 

46 


Our  YEAR  BOOK  Helps 

in  the  Art  of  Giving 


(H- 


Our.  YEAR  BOOK  cgnlaim  the 


Mail-order  copy,  containing  complete  information,  illustra- 
tions and  prices  of  articles 


paper,  offering  a  free  booklet  about  the  raising  of 
squabs.  This  booklet  in  turn,  without  other  fol- 
low-up, leads  to  the  sale  of  a  large  manual,  and 
then  of  pigeons  and  supplies,  with  which  the  in- 
quirer may  set  up  in  business.  Today,  over  1,000,- 
000  birds  have  been  sold.  The  cost  per  inquiry 
varies  from  15  to  25  cents. 

Distribution  directly  and  exclusively  through 
the  retailer  is  illustrated  by  a  great  Chicago  house 
dealing  in  men's  clothing.  The  advertising  is  for 
the  purpose  of  influencing  men  to  go  into  their 
clothing  stores  predisposed  to  buy  this  firm's  suits. 
When  the  advertising  began,  the  company  was 
doing  a  $3,500,000  business  annually.  The  sell- 
ing cost  was  8  percent.  The  business  now  amounts 
to  more  than  $14,000,000  a  year,  and  the  selling 
cost — including  the  "additional  expense"  of  the 
advertising — is  down  to  5  per  cent.  The  traveling 
salesmen  individually  make  more  money  with  less 
effort,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  receive 
only  %}/2  per  cent,  commission  on  their  sales  in- 
stead of  5  per  cent,  as  formerly. 

The  usual  type  of  distribution  is  through  the 
jobber.  Some  manufacturers  have  an  erroneous 
impression  that  when  the  distribution  is  of  this 
character  national  advertising  is  not  feasible. 

A  telling  illustration,  however,  of  the  effect  of 
periodical  advertising  upon  a  jobber  distribution 
is  found  in  the  experience  of  a  certain  textile  mill. 

48 


LARGEST 
$26Q74O,OOO 

28% 


OTHER  LARGE 

DRY  GOODS  STORES 

$2I8,435,OOO 

23% 


FIFTH 
$69,735,000 

7% 


SECOND 
$166,100,OOO 

18% 


FOURTH 
$9Z680,000 


THIRD 

$130,561,000 

14% 


This  mill  hesitated  to  advertise  because  it  was 
selling  all  its  goods,  unmarked,  to  wholesalers 
who,  before  reselling  them  to  retailers,  placed 
their  own  marks  on  them.  Goods  so  marked  are 
known  as  "private  brands."  The  mill  feared  to 
jeopardize  its  existing  business  through  the  job- 
bers by  the  introduction  of  a  nationally  adver- 
tised mill  brand.  It  was  believed  that  the  jobbers 
would  refuse  to  continue  to  handle  the  goods  ex- 
cept under  their  own  names,  because  the  jobber 
usually  prefers  to  stand  before  the  retailer  on  his 
own  reputation,  not  on  the  reputation  of  the  mill- 
brand  of  a  manufacturer. 

The  plan  finally  adopted  was  to  advertise  the 
line  under  a  trade-mark — the  jobber  being  given 
his  choice  between  the  trade-marked  goods  or 
the  same  goods  under  their  private  tickets  as  be- 
fore. It  was  understood  that  the  two  kinds  of 
goods  were  identical.  Here  was  the  result: 

Sold  to  jobber  for  his        Sold  to  jobber  with 
"private  brand"  mill  trade-mark 

Before  Advertising 1 00%  0% 

1910 86%  14% 

1911 61%  39% 

1912 50%  50% 

In  other  words,  the  stimulating  effect  of  the 
advertising,  plus  its  attendant  service  features, 
upon  the  consumer,  the  retailer,  and  upon  the 
50 


or 
th 
a 
t 


jobb^i 


n  of  the  mill  itself,  was  reflected  upon 
rs.  They  &fcfirfd  thacit  wA^moilefto  their 
antage  with  half/thejfr  tragffe  to  handle  the 
fce-mafked  goods  th^n  to  push  the  same  goods 
bearing  their  own  m^rks.  During  this  period  the 
total  sales  of  the  mill  increased  more  than  thirtjy 
per  cent. 

The  power  of  national  advertising  to  secure 
dealer  cooperation  is  less  obvious,  but  frequently 
very  important. 

Many  a  worthy  commodity  has  failed  to  get 
a  start  because  of  the  lack  of  proper  distribu- 
tion, while  an  article  less  deserving  has  swept  the 
sea  of  trade  because  it  had  the  dealers  with  it. 
To  enlist  the  support  of  merchants  and  agents  has 
come  to  be  one  of  the  primary  duties  of  national 
advertising.  This  is  frequently  done  by  indirect 
appeal.  The  message  to  the  consumer  catches  the 
quick  ear  of  the  retailer,  and  the  retailer  "taps 
the  wire."  Realizing  that  a  desire  is  about  to 
be  stimulated  in  his  own  community  by  the  ad- 
vertising of  the  manufacturer,  the  dealer  seizes 
the  opportunity  to  "cash  in"  on  it  for  himself. 
This  is  just  what  both  want — a  mutually  advan- 
tageous alliance. 

An  automobile  company  from  a  large  adver- 
tisement, for  instance,  received  6,837  replies  in 
thirty-three  days,  of  which  nearly  3,000  were  from 
dealers. 

51 


A  hosiery  firm  from  a  small  advertisement,  in 
addition  to  1,000  cash  sales,  made  new  connec- 
tions with  50  dealers. 

A  piano  company  reached  250  dealers  through 
its  advertising. 

These  random  instances  go  to  show  that  dealer 
advertising  need  not  be  a  separate  effort,  but  may 
run  side  by  side  with  advertising  to  the  consumer. 

Whatever  the  distribution — mail-order,  jobber, 
retailer  or  agent — the  leverage  of  advertising  is 
exerted  on  the  consumer.  People  buy  goods  be- 
cause they  want  them.  A  great  many  buy  what- 
ever clerks  persuade  them  to,  but  a  far  greater 
and  constantly  increasing  number  enter  a  store 
persuaded  by  advertising  to  buy  certain  goods 
identified  by  a  name.  No  dealer  can  afford  to  pay 
his  clerks  to  spend  their  time  convincing  a  cus- 
tomer that  he  should  buy  one  thing  \vhen  he 
wants  another. 

No  jobber  will  long  refuse  to  sell  what  the 
retailer  continually  needs.  No  prospective  dealer 
will  be  blind  to  the  demand  created  in  his  own 
territory.  It  is  advertising  which  has  developed 
this  great  selling  force. 

Advertising,  moreover,  is  as  much  for  the  little 
fellow  as  for  the  great  corporation.  The  further 
one  pushes  it,  the  more  perfect  one's  organization, 
the  greater  the  capital  invested,  the  more  power- 

52 


ful  it  becomes.  Yet,  if  rightly  conducted,  it  can 
have  the  smallest  beginning  and  develop  naturally, 
side  by  side,  with  the  business  it  is  helping. 

It  is  a  giant  for  a  giant;  but  it  goes  hand  in 
hand  with  the  youth,  if  the  youth  has  ability  and 
ambition. 

Advertising  is  gradually  receiving  greater  cre- 
dence, and  is,  as  a  whole,  more  worthy  of  such 
credence.  Guided  by  trained  hands,  conducted 
systematically  and  conscientiously,  it  has  come 
to  be  no  more  hazardous  and  is  surely  far  more 
profitable  than  ordinary  ventures  upon  which 
manufacturers  enter  daily. 

"Advertising,"  said  a  speaker  at  a  great  busi- 
ness men's  dinner,  "is  merchandizing  by  wire- 
less— suggesting  comforts  and  necessities  before 
the  need  is  born,  creating  new  markets,  building 
new  factories,  selling  the  surplus. 

"Advertising  makes  for  better  furnished  homes, 
better  dressed  people,  purer  food,  better  health, 
greater  comfort,  bigger  life;  and,  incidentally,  ad- 
vertising makes  the  advertiser  a  bigger,  broader 
man — a  national  figure." 


IV 

The  Machinery  of  Advertising 

A  MANUFACTURER   does   not   ejaculate 
before  lunch,  "I  believe  I'll  use  a  page  in 
The  Ladies'  Home  Journal,"  after  lunch 
dash  off  a  clever  bit  of  copy,  and  telephone  to 
the  magazine  to  send  a  messenger  for  it  before  five 
o'clock,  so  that  he  can  see  the  proof  tomorrow. 

Advertising  passes  through  an  intricate  mill 
that  grinds  slowly — but  exceedingly  fine.  The 
four-color  display  which  makes  the  back  cover 
as  attractive  and  as  forceful  as  the  front,  has 
much  history  behind  it.  To  begin  with,  the  space 
it  occupies  was  ordered  a  year  or  more  ago — for 
there  is  keen  competition  among  advertisers  to 
obtain  the  cover  positions  of  leading  publica- 
tions. The  idea  of  this  particular  advertisement, 
as  a  part  of  an  extensive  campaign,  was  con- 
ceived perhaps  a  year  ago.  Six  months  ago  a 
highly  trained  artist  was  commissioned  to  begin 
the  painting,  and  soon  after,  the  copy  man  was 
at  work,  writing  and  rewriting.  As  long  as  three 
months  ago  the  magazine  insisted  on  receiving 
the  design  and  copy  in  order  that  its  mechanical 
staff  might  begin  the  process  of  reproduction. 
Between  the  first  suggestion  of  a  campaign  and 

55 


the  cash-in  on  the  last  of  the  resultant  sales,  per- 
haps years  after,  there  stretches  an  orderly  series 
of  shafting,  pulleys  and  gears — possessed  of  tre- 
mendous man-power. 

Like  a  newspaper  press,  each  advertising  ma- 
chine is  constructed  individually  to  meet  particu- 
lar needs.  The  inventor  who  sells,  by  mail,  a  line 
of  little  household  conveniences  turns  out  his  own 
one-inch  advertisement  in  a  couple  of  evenings  at 
home,  and  mails  it  direct  to  the  publication,  while 
the  large  advertiser,  spending  considerable  sums, 
sets  a  huge  mechanism  moving  in  well-oiled  and 
balanced  revolution. 

This  machine  has  as  its  main  features: 

(1)   The  firm. 

(£)   The  sales  manager. 

(3)  The  advertising  manager. 

(4)  The  advertising  agent. 

(•5)   The  publisher's  representative. 

(6)   The  publishing  house. 

Under  one  or  the  other  of  these  six  divisions  fall 
all  the  numerous  supplementary  heads — the  copy 
writer,  the  illustrator,  the  space  buyer,  investi- 
gators and  statisticians,  follow-up  men,  engravers, 
designers,  printers,  clerks  to  check  up  results  and 
answer  inquiries. 

It  is,  of  course,  the  firm,  the  board  of  directors 
or  other  management,  which  is  ultimately  respon- 
sible for  the  advertising.  But  seldom  does  the  ini- 

56 


tiative  proceed  directly  from  these  sources.  A  new 
national  advertiser  is  born  of  the  suggestion  of 
a  publisher  or  an  agent,  the  energy  of  some  one 
far-sighted  member  of  the  firm,  or  the  progressive- 
ness  of  the  advertising  manager  (who  may  for 
years  have  been  restricted  to  small  local,  circular 
or  trade-paper  publicity).  Many  large  advertisers 
are  graduates  from  trade-paper  advertising.  The 
best  trade  and  technical  papers  not  only  fill  an 
important  place  by  helping  many  advertisers  to 
reach  their  distributors  simultaneously  with  con- 
sumer publicity,  but  they  also  serve  as  a  prepara- 
tory school  for  wider  efforts.  No  manufacturer, 
however,  can  afford  to  judge  the  probable  value 
of  national  advertising  by  the  results  which  he 
has  been  getting  through  specialized  mediums. 
In  the  first  place,  direct  and  tangible  returns  are 
admittedly   not   the    province    of    many   trade 
papers.  Their  function  is  to  build  and  retain  good- 
will. Second,  the  manufacturer  who  employs  trade 
papers  unfortunately  does  not  always  accord  to 
his  copy  there  the  serious  attention  which  it  de- 
serves. Third,  there  is  of  course  no  influence  ex- 
erted by  the  trade  paper  upon  the  ultimate  con- 
sumer, who  in  the  last  analysis  controls  the  course 
of  commerce.  Generally,  the  advertiser  who  goes 
into  the  national  field  after  using  trade  papers 
will  be  astonished  by  the  increased  response,  both 
direct  and  through  his  trade  itself. 

57 


It  is  the  firm  which  authorizes  the  spending  of 
the  money  and  makes  the  appropriation.  It  also 
approves  the  general  plan  and  scope  of  the  cam- 
paign— whether  the  methods  shall  be  general  or 
mail-order,  the  keynote,  to  what  classes  the  ap- 
peal shall  be  directed,  and  what  type  of  publica- 
tion shall  be  used.  The  firm  also  very  often,  with 
the  advice  and  cooperation  of  a  publisher  in 
whom  he  has  confidence,  selects  the  agent  who 
seems  best  qualified  to  handle  the  account. 

When  the  day  comes  that  these  "men  higher 
up," — the  men  who  now  so  often  either  ignorantly 
handle  a  good  advertising  plan  or  give  too  free 
rein  to  an  inefficient  * '  expert," — when  the  directors 
and  officers  of  the  firm  themselves  try  to  know 
more  about  advertising,  then  we  may  expect  an 
even  greater  average  of  success  than  is  being  at- 
tained today. 

The  second  factor  is  the  sales  manager.  His 
connection  with  the  advertising  varies  widely 
with  different  types  of  organization.  In  some  he 
has  authority  over  the  advertising  manager; 
sometimes  the  two  offices  are  combined  in  one; 
often  the  two  have  equal  power  and  pull  together 
in  double  harness.  There  is  much  divergence  of 
opinion  as  to  the  most  efficient  relation.  H.  H. 
Bigelow,  president  of  the  National  Sales  Man- 
agers' Association  of  America,  writes:  "In  my 
judgment,  the  advertising  department  should  be 

58 


under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  sales  depart- 
ment. Advertising  departments  are  only  one  form 
of  selling  .  .  .  and  the  advertising  department  not 
in  close  connection  with,  and  not  having  the 
hearty  support  of  the  sales  manager,  and,  through 
him,  of  the  salesmen,  is  a  failure." 

Others  will  tell  you  that  because  advertising 
strikes  the  dominant  note  of  the  sales  policy  the 
relation  should  be  reversed. 

There  is  at  least  no  disagreement  as  to  the  need 
of  close  connection  and  the  hearty  support  of  the 
advertising  by  the  whole  selling  organization. 
From  the  sales  manager  must  come  the  data  as  to 
what  kind  of  help  he  most  needs,  in  what  locali- 
ties and  at  what  times.  From  him  will  emanate 
many  of  the  arguments  to  be  used  in  the  copy  - 
although  not  always  the  most  powerful  ones.  It  is 
his  responsibility  to  enthuse  the  salesmen,  to  keep 
them  informed  about  the  advertising  and  to  insist 
that  they  take  best  advantage  of  the  favorable 
attitude  which  it  fosters.  His  department  will  also 
handle  the  incoming  inquiries,  and  in  some  firms 
attend  to  the  follow-up  methods  of  reaching  dealer 
and  consumer. 

The  advertising  manager,  the  third  factor,  may 
be  a  big  man  or  a  little  one,  a  help  or  a  hindrance. 
His  efficiency  or  inefficiency  may  have  much  to  do 
with  success  or  failure,  according  to  the  amount 
of  responsibility  given  him. 

60 


"An  advertising  manager's  success,"  according 
to  "Modern  Advertising,"*  "depends  upon  his 
knowledge  of  what  to  do  and  what  not  to  do.  His 
freedom  to  carry  out  his  plans  also  depends  upon 
his  relation  to  his  company.  Many  a  well-planned 
campaign  is  spoiled  by  the  efforts  of  various  mem- 
bers of  a  company  who  insist  upon  the  exploitation 
of  their  own  ideas.  On  the  other  hand,  many  com- 
panies have  been  wrecked  by  allowing  an  incom- 
petent advertising  manager  full  scope.  Probably  no 
other  business  depends  so  fully  upon  the  tempera- 
ment and  disposition  of  the  man  doing  the  work." 

In  some  concerns  the  advertising  manager  does 
little  more  than  interview  solicitors,  transmit  in- 
structions to  the  agent,  read  proofs  and  report 
upon  results.  In  others  he  works  in  constant 
touch  with  the  agent,  controlling  the  progress  of 
the  campaign,  ferreting  out  ideas,  planning  and 
writing  some  of  the  copy.  Usually  a  manager  of 
this  calibre  has  much  to  do  with  the  selection  of 
the  agent.  Still  another  kind  of  advertising  man- 
ager has  broader  duties,  conducting  a  large  depart- 
ment which  plans  campaigns,  writes  and  illustrates 
all  copy,  and  attends  to  the  primary  dealer-work 
and  the  follow-up,  leaving  only  the  actual  purchase 
of  space,  distribution  of  copy  and  checking  of  in- 
sertions and  results  to  the  agent.  Such  a  system 
often  signifies  insufficient  service  on  the  part  of 

*  By  Calkins  &  Holden. 

61 


the  agent.  The  best  agencies  refuse  to  accept  an 
account  where  their  duties  are  to  be  limited  solely 
to  "placing"  or  "clearing." 

In  general,  the  true  position  of  the  advertising 
manager  is  between  the  agent  and  the  firm ;  repre- 
senting the  latter  and  directing  the  former.  He 
should  be  a  man  with  a  thorough  comprehension 
of  advertising  methods,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
closely  concerned  with  the  policies  of  the  com- 
pany. To  the  board  of  directors  or  the  firm,  made 
up  of  men  unfamiliar  with  advertising,  he  inter- 
prets the  plans  and  campaigns  of  the  agent.  Upon 
the  enthusiastic  agent  he  impresses  the  viewpoint 
of  the  firm,  and  exercises  the  check  of  conserva- 
tism. To  this  chief  function  he  may  add  such  of 
the  duties  and  prerogatives  of  either  party  as  ne- 
cessity or  policy  may  dictate  or  permit. 

The  next  factor,  the  agent,  is  the  transmission 
in  the  machinery  of  advertising.  His  function  is  so 
all-pervading  that  it  deserves  consideration  in  a 
separate  chapter. 

The  fifth  factor  is  the  publisher's  representa- 
tive. An  even  wider  diversity  of  types  occurs  in 
this  classification  than  in  that  of  advertising 
manager.  The  representative  ranges  from  the  ac- 
complished semi- blackmailer  for  a  useless  sheet 
who  often  receives  as  much  as  50  per  cent,  commis- 
sion, to  the  high-salaried  expert  with  years  of 
merchandizing  experience,  who  can  sit  across  the 

62 


Dcr  GILLETTE  Rasier-Apparat  ist  u 
grenzt  haltbar. 


Le  Rasoir  de  Sfiret£  AutoStrop  vous  rase  de 
tr&s  pr&*  parce  que  »a  lame  est  toujours  parfai- 
tement  aiguisee  —  c'e«t  le  seul  rasoir  de 
qui  se  repasse  Iui-m6me. 


American  advertising  pushing  its  characteristic  way  into 
foreign  publications 


table  from  the  president  of  a  great  corporation 
and  advise  with  him. 

We  are  dealing  here,  only  with  the  kind  of 
man  who  represents  the  leading  reputable  pub- 
lications. The  ideal  representative,  and  the  one 
who  will  prevail,  is  no  mere  "copy-chaser,"  to 
follow  up  firms  already  advertising  and  attend 
to  petty  details.  He  is  not  a  space  seller — not 
simply  a  brilliant  salesman  qualified  to  hypnotize 
the  manufacturer  into  writing  his  name  on  the 
dotted  line  while  still  only  half  convinced.  He 
is  not  a  "pinch-hitter,"  dashing  in  to  sell  a  page 
here,  a  cover  position  there.  He  is  a  business 
builder. 

The  ideal  representative  never  solicits  an  ac- 
count until  he  knows  enough  of  the  man's  business, 
selling  conditions  and  markets  to  be  reasonably 
sure  that  success  will  follow.  Frequent  consulta- 
tion with  other  members  of  the  staff  of  his  pub- 
lication fortifies  him  with  the  fullest  information. 
His  duties  include  not  only  the  selling  of  space 
but  often  the  suggestion  of  how  to  fill  it  and  how 
to  follow  it  up,  and  at  times  the  recommendation 
of  the  proper  agent.  Such  a  representative  is  quite 
likely  to  be  a  graduate  of  commercial  traveling  or 
to  have  had  other  previous  business  experience. 
Invariably  he  is  a  welcome  visitor  in  the  offices 
of  many  an  important  company,  because  he  helps 
them  sell  their  goods. 
64 


The  final  factor  is  the  publishing  house.  The 
old  idea,  and  one  that  even  today  prevails  in 
many  quarters,  was  that  the  sole  duty  of  the 
publisher  was  to  print  the  advertisement  and  ac- 
cept a  check  for  it.  This  is  far  from  enough.  A  large 
percentage  of  the  revenue  of  any  publication  is 
derived  from  advertising.  It  is  highly  to  the 
publisher's  interest  that  all  advertising  reach  a 
maximum  of  effectiveness,  that  it  be  ethically 
and  commercially  on  the  highest  possible  plane. 
From  the  leading  publications  should  emanate 
the  policies  which  influence  advertising  progress. 
A  few  of  them  have  accepted  the  task.  The  cen- 
sorship of  copy,  the  basic  principle  of  publishing 
only  advertising  which  promises  to  bring  results, 
the  willingness  to  guide  advertisers  to  agents  who 
can  render  the  most  efficient  service — these  and 
similar  efforts  to  direct  the  course  of  printed  mer- 
chandizing into  straighter  channels  stand  to  the 
credit  of  the  far-sighted  publisher.  Consumer, 
manufacturer  and  agent  must  look  to  the  pub- 
lisher for  the  unifying  force  in  advertising.  This 
topic  will  be  discussed  more  at  length  in  later 
chapters,  with  examples  drawn  from  the  experi- 
ence of  one  publishing  house  which  has  succeeded 
by  the  employment  of  these  methods. 


ADVISORY 


DEPARTMENT 


DEPARTMENT 


TRADE 
INVESTI- 


PRINTING 
DEPART- 
MENT 


/  REPRE- 
SENTATIVE 


ORDER  \  /  CHECK 


BOOR 
ING    HKEEPIN 
DEPT.  A  DEPT. 


DEPART- 
MENT • 


ORGANIZATION  of  a 
MODERN  ADVERTISING  AGENCY 


V 

The  Advertising  Agent 

IT  has  been  said  that  there  are  two  things  that 
every  man  thinks  he  knows  how  to  do.  One  is 
to  play  Hamlet.  The  other  is  to  advertise. 
Perhaps  this  is  true.  There  certainly  are  a  lot 
of  poor  Hamlets  and  a  lot  of  poor  advertisements 
in  existence. 

The  manufacturer  who  contemplates  advertis- 
ing is  in  sore  need  of  the  services  of  a  stage  man- 
ager. Often  he  needs  to  be  shown  how  to  do  it. 
Often  he  needs  to  be  shown  why  not  to  do  it.  He 
needs  an  advertising  agent. 

This  need  arises  long  before  the  actual  adver- 
tising begins. 

What  the  market  is,  whether  it  is  ready  for  ad- 
vertising, whether  the  quality  of  the  goods  is  high 
enough,  what  the  channels  of  sales  shall  be,  to 
whom  the  appeal  shall  be  addressed,  how  the 
article  shall  be  named,  marked,  packed,  priced, 
distributed, — these  are  some  of  the  preliminary 
questions  to  be  answered. 

What  publications  shall  be  used,  what  space 
and  what  will  it  cost,  what  arguments,  how  to 
write  and  illustrate  the  advertisements,  how  to 
get  them  into  the  hands  of  publishers,  how  to 

67 


check  results — these  are  a  few  of  the  later  prob- 
lems requiring  a  trained  hand  and  many  trained 
brains. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  prospective  adver- 
tiser needs  an  advertising  agent,  and  that  more 
than  90  per  cent,  of  the  advertising  in  leading 
periodicals  today  is  placed  through  agents. 

The  agent  has  a  very  real  place  in  the  world 
of  advertising.  Publishers  "recognize"  certain 
efficient  and  reliable  firms  whose  business  it  is  to 
conduct  advertising  campaigns.  They  allow  these 
"recognized"  agencies,  a  commission  on  business 
placed  through  them.  Even  though  this  means  a 
reduction  in  the  direct  income  of  the  publications, 
they  urge  advertisers  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
services  of  an  agent,  because  the  loss  is  counter- 
balanced by  the  permanency  and  the  natural  in- 
crease in  expenditures  which  will  result  from  in- 
creased sales  made  possible  by  the  aid  of  a  skilled 
man  or  organization. 

The  good  advertising  agent  is  a  high-grade 
business  adviser.  He  offers  the  customer  ideas  and 
practical  aid  born  of  experience,  together  with  a 
real  concern  as  to  the  customer's  success.  Upon 
the  choice  of  agent  may  depend  the  whole  out- 
come of  any  advertising  campaign.  Some  knowl- 
edge of  what  the  agent  is,  what  he  does,  and  how 
he  does  it,  is  therefore  of  vital  importance  to  the 
prospective  advertiser. 
68 


Whether  the  agent  as  we  know  him  today  is  the 
cause  or  the  result  of  modern  business  methods  in 
advertising  is  perhaps  a  matter  for  debate.  His 
present  status  is  probably  born  of  competition 
and  the  growing  consciousness  of  a  need. 

At  any  rate,  it  is  far  removed  from  the  space- 
trading  of  twenty  years  ago.  Then,  advertising 
space  was  bargained  for  like  city  paving  contracts. 

The  agent  existed  just  as  any  old-time  jobber 
existed.  He  merely  bought  space  at  wholesale  and 
resold  it.  The  man  who  could  get  the  lowest  prices 
from  publishers  and  could  resell  at  the  highest 
prices  to  advertisers  was  the  most  successful 
agent. 

As  a  large  buyer  the  agent  could  get  lower  rates 
and  better  treatment  than  the  individual  adver- 
tiser, and  he  had  the  necessary  information  and 
equipment  to  relieve  the  advertiser  of  the  per- 
plexing details  of  insertion  in  many  widely  scat- 
tered mediums. 

No  consciousness  of  responsibility  ever  entered 
his  head.  The  advertiser  wrote  his  own  copy,  de- 
cided where  to  run  it  and  took  all  the  credit  or 
blame  for  the  results. 

This  conception  of  advertising  was,  of  course, 
crude  and  limited.  But  in  spite  of  the  resultant 
waste  and  loss,  and  of  the  many  gross  abuses  of 
the  day,  advertising  made  good.  It  could  not  help 
but  make  good  eventually,  because  it  was  a  natural 


force.  That  it  made  good  as  quickly  as  it  has,  is 
due  primarily  to  the  enthusiasm  and  effort  of  the 
advertising  agent,  who  forced  the  business  public 
to  recognize  its  power,  even  though  at  first  he  did 
little  to  direct  the  application  of  that  power. 

Some  ten  years  ago  certain  agencies  began  to 
write  copy  and  to  prepare  illustrations  for  their 
clients,  because  they  found  that  by  this  means 
they  could  more  readily  induce  men  who  dreaded 
the  technical  details,  to  advertise.  To  do  this 
they  began  to  find  it  necessary  to  inquire  into  the 
client's  problems,  and  to  find  out  what  his  lines 
of  argument  were.  Then  they  began  to  suggest 
selling  arguments.  Next  they  saw  ways  of  corre- 
lating other  selling  plans  with  the  advertising, 
and  more  or  less  timidly  and  apologetically  pre- 
sented them.  Thus  step  by  step  grew  the  well- 
equipped  agency  of  today,  competent  to  render 
service  in  every  department — the  newest  and  in 
many  respects  the  least  understood  factor  in  ad- 
vertising. The  factor,  indeed,  which  is  beginning  to 
make  the  word  "advertising  agent"  a  misnomer. 
For  "advertising"  is  today  but  one  feature  of  the 
work  of  a  real  agency. 

Having  begun  as  a  promoter,  whose  real  jobs 
were  to  get  people  to  advertise  and  to  haggle  with 
publishers  over  the  price  of  space,  the  agent  had 
as  his  most  important  employee,  the  solicitor. 
Clerks  attended  to  the  petty  details  which  followed 
70 


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"Playing  up"  the  taste 


the  "landing"  of  an  account.  Today  conditions 
are  entirely  changed.  Now  the  highest  paid  men 
are  those  who  lay  out  and  execute  campaigns. 
An  increasing  number  of  agencies  employ  no  so- 
licitors. Their  energies  are  devoted  not  to  getting 
new  accounts,  but  to  cultivating  those  they  have 
and  those  that  come  to  them  as  a  patient  comes 
to  a  physician. 

Some  agencies  employ  a  hundred  men  or  more, 
maintain  branch  offices  and  handle  business  well 
into  the  millions.  Others  have  modest  quarters, 
small  staffs  and  place  much  less  business.  Mere 
size  is  not  conclusive.  One  agency  may  tend  to- 
ward far-reaching,  intricate  campaigns;  another 
to  unique,  highly  artistic  work;  a  third  may  show 
an  aptitude  for  knotty  merchandising  problems 
where  the  force  must  often  be  applied  through 
indirect  channels. 

"What  should  I  expect  of  my  agent,  provided 
I  am  willing  to  give  him  full  confidence?  What 
will  a  first-class  agent  do  for  me?"  asks  the  manu- 
facturer. 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  a  complete  sur- 
vey of  the  preliminaries  and  details  of  any  well- 
rounded  advertising  campaign. 

The  agent's  first  step  will  be  a  thorough  investi- 
gation of  your  situation.  He  will  go  fully  into  your 
business  and  your  plant.  He  will  ask  you  the  true 
inside  story  of  your  own  and  your  competitors' 
72 


goods.  He  will  interview  your  salesmen  and  your 
branch  managers. 

Then  he  will  examine  general  selling  conditions 
in  your  line.  The  buyers  for  the  jobbing  houses 
which  distribute  your  line  will  be  visited.  If  you 
have  not  already  done  so,  he  will  carefully  tabu- 
late your  distribution  and  the  number  of  dealers 
carrying  your  goods  in  each  state.  He  will  find  out 
why  you  are  weak  here,  why  you  are  strong  there, 
and  what  local  difficulties  need  to  be  overcome. 

His  men  may  go  out  into  various  cities  and  ask 
dealers  such  questions  as  "Why  don't  you  carry 
A's  goods?"  "Why  don't  you  sell  more  of  A's 
goods?"  "How  do  your  sales  this  year  compare 
with  last?"  "To  whom  do  you  sell?"  "What  seems 
to  be  the  usual  reason  why  people  buy  them?" 
"Would  you  appreciate  assistance  from  the  manu- 
facturer in  selling  them?" 

Upon  the  amount  of  time  and  money  which  it 
is  necessary  to  devote  to  this  study  will  depend 
whether  the  agent  charges  you  a  fee  above  his 
commissions.  Many  of  the  better  agencies  ask  a 
retainer  for  such  service  as  this.  It  is  often  a  year 
or  more  before  a  firm  is  in  shape  to  advertise,  and, 
meantime,  of  course,  no  publishers'  commissions 
are  coming  in  to  compensate  the  agent  for  his 
work.  Intelligent,  experienced  and  conscientious 
service,  as  with  the  architect,  the  engineer  or  the 
physician,  adds  to  the  value  of  the  advice  which 

73 


results.  More  than  this,  before  the  investigator  has 
gone  very  far,  he  may  advise  you  not  to  advertise 
at  all.  This  is  a  service  for  which  you  can  well 
afford  to  pay  him,  for  obviously  he  has  saved  you 
large  sums. 

By  his  study  and  analysis  of  you,  your  goods, 
your  sales  methods  and  those  of  your  competitors 
the  agent  will  determine — 

(1)  To  whom  your  selling  argument  should  be 
directed  (this  concerns  the  type  or  types  of 
probable  buyers). 

(2)  What  arguments  are  most  appealing  and 
effective  to  that  constituency. 

(3}  Therefore  what  national  publications  and 
other  mediums  are  best  suited  to  reach  this 
class. 

(4)  What  size  advertisements  and  what  number 
of  insertions  these  conditions  require  to  be 
most  effective. 

But  he  will  not  stop  with  this  study. 
He  may  suggest  an  improvement  in  quality  or 
methods  of  manufacture.  Many  a  product  has 
been  made  better  through  the  necessity  of  living 
up  to  its  advertising. 

He  may  advise  the  development  of  some  fea- 
ture of  your  line  not  now  emphasized.* 

*  The  idea  of  making  the  Big  Ben  alarm  clock,  for  example,  origi- 
nated with  an  advertising  man,  as  did  the  plan  of  selling  tar-and-gravel 
roofing  materials  by  advertising  the  "Barrett  Specification." 

74 


IFifthAve  NewYo 


Two  views  of  a  hat-box,  showing  effective  treatment  of  the 
package 


If  you  have  not  a  good  trade-mark,  he  will  cer- 
tainly have  to  help  you  find  one. 

Your  package  may  be  old-fashioned,  unattrac- 
tive, impossible  to  illustrate  and  to  display  effec- 
tively on  the  dealers'  shelves.  He  must  get  you  a 
new  one. 

He  may  want  you  to  standardize  your  price, 
put  out  a  greater  variety  of  sizes  or  quantities, 
make  a  free  sample  size. 

Your  relations  with  jobbers  and  retailers,  the 
organization  of  your  sales  force,  may  seem  to  him 
to  demand  revision. 

Actual  conditions  discovered,  needful  changes 
made,  the  general  line  of  argument  and  the  extent 
of  expenditure  determined,  the  agent  will  get 
down  to  your  advertising. 

He  will  suggest  what  publications  and  other 
mediums  you  should  use,  and  tell  you  just  what 
they  will  cost. 

He  will  write  your  magazine  and  newspaper 
copy,  your  "follow-up  "  booklets,  circulars  to  deal- 
ers, and  form  letters. 

He  will  obtain  the  illustrations  and  arrange  for 
the  printing. 

He  will  design  street-car  cards  and  billboard 
posters,  get  up  window  displays  for  dealers;  hire, 
train  and  send  forth  demonstrators. 

He  will  get  out  your  new  catalogue. 

He  will  talk  to  your  salesmen. 

76 


If  you  want  novelty  advertising,  he  will  get  it; 
a  house  organ,  he  will  found  it;  prize  contests,  he 
will  invent  them;  a  new  plant  or  building,  he  will 
advise  you  how  to  get  the  most  publicity  out  of  it.* 

How  far  he  will  go  depends  solely  upon  the 
thoroughness  with  which  you  wish  to  advertise. 

This  all  may  sound  terrifying,  but  it  is  not.  To 
the  man  just  learning  to  play  bridge,  the  multi- 
plicity of  signals,  the  variety  of  plays,  the  almost 
incalculable  number  of  possible  errors  are  be- 
wildering. And  yet,  once  he  has  tried  a  few  hands, 
if  he  possesses  moderate  intelligence,  the  appar- 
ently complex  detail  becomes  clear  and  reasonable 
and  the  pitfalls  disappear.  So  with  advertising. 
The  process  of  advertising  itself  is  logical  and 
relatively  simple.  The  things  that  you  would 
have  to  do  before  advertising,  and  which  the 
agent  is  trained  to  help  you  do,  are  for  the  most 
part  things  which  any  business  must  undergo 
before  it  becomes  a  national  success,  irrespective 
of  whether  it  is  advertised  or  not.  These  steps  are 
taken  not  for  the  sake  of  advertising,  but  for  the 
sake  of  better  merchandizing.  It  just  so  happens 
that  advertising  frequently  plays  the  leading  part 
in  good  merchandizing. 

It  is  because  of  this  that  the  agent,  as  the  spon- 
sor for  advertising,  must  concern  himself  with  all 

*  The  opening  of  the  New  Grand  Central  Terminal  in  New  York 
City,  February  2,  1913,  was  effectively  exploited. 

77 


branches  of  your  business.  In  order  to  be  sold 
right,  a  product  must  be  conceived  right,  made 
right,  priced  right  and  distributed  right. 

In  the  selection  of  an  agent  to  conduct  your  ad- 
vertising, then,  you  should  consider  more  than 
honesty.  Experience,  ability,  business  judgment, 
all  as  applying  to  your  special  needs,  are  quite  as 
important.  The  good  agent  must  combine  in  his 
person  or  organization — usually  the  latter — the 
qualities  of  business  adviser,  salesman,  manufac- 
turer, artist  and  writer.  Inefficient  agency  service 
is  the  greatest  waste  of  a  good  appropriation.  To 
select  your  agency  for  sentimental  or  social  rea- 
sons, it  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark,  is  much 
worse  than  buying  raw  material  above  the  mar- 
ket. In  the  latter  case  you  can  at  least  estimate 
your  loss  with  some  degree  of  accuracy. 

The  selection  of  an  agent  on  a  cut-rate  basis  is 
a  serious  error.  The  device  by  which  an  agent  cuts 
rates  is  rebating  to  the  client  a  part  of  the  com- 
mission paid  him  by  the  publishers — or  in  the 
common  phrase,  "splitting  commissions."  The 
business  man  who  prides  himself  on  being  a 
shrewd  buyer  is  frequently  deceived  into  sanc- 
tioning such  an  arrangement. 

If  cut  rates  merely  implied  cut  service,  as  in- 
evitably they  must  here  as  elsewhere,  the  prac- 
tice would  not  be  so  serious  a  matter.  But  it 
involves  a  moral  issue  as  well.  The  agent  receives 

78 


Think! 


Think  what  a  great  part  the  following  nine  commercial  wonders  of  the  world  are  playing 
in  the  prosperity  which  you  are  enjoying: 

Thin*  what  Gutenberg  did  tor  civilization  when  he  invented  the  movable  type  priming 
prew.  and  enabled  the  human  race  to  educate  themitelvet 


Ttun*  what  George  Stephen*.,,  did  !<„  the  world  when  he  thought  ol  the  , 
uve    which   made    powble  cheap   tranaportation  ot    n 
much  for  civilization 


TJtink   how    Robert    Fulton   brought   the   count  ne»  of  the   world   together   by   thinking 
of  the  fteamboAt       Trantpnrranon  on  §ea  IB  (M(  and  cheap  because   Fulton  thought 


JTtutk  what  Samuel  Morae  did  tor  the  world  when  he  thought  ol  the  telegraph,  which 
hai  annihilated  durance  and  brought  the  endi  of  the  earth  together 


TT.OT*  ol  what   Elui  Howe.  Jr.     did  lot  mi  limn,  ol  women  when   he  thought   ot  the 
•ruing  machine-one  ol  the  greateat  bleanngi  to  the  human  nee 


7*«iA  what  C    H    McCormick  did  lot  the  world  when  he  thought  of  the  harveatinf 
machine      The  mne-hillion-dollar  crop  of  today  would  not  be  potable  without  H 


TTun*  what  Alexander  Graham  Bell  did  when  he  thought  of  the  telephone,  which  enable! 
you  to  talk  hundred*  ol  mile*,  expediting  butineaa  and  bringing  your  racial  fhendi  within 
lound  of  vour  voice 


Thin*  what  Thomat  A  Ediion  did  when  he  thought  of  the  incandeacent  light,  and  hu 
other  electrical  appliancn.  and  how  they  have  facilitated  nunneaa  and  added  to  the 
cnmforn  of  the  home 


TTun*  •>  hu  Jacob  Ritty  did  for  the  world  when  he  invented  the  cash  regKter      It  n  atnog 
time  and  money  in  store*  all  over  the  world,  and  benefiting  million*  of  pcopl. 

Think  of  the  amount  of  capital,  labor  and  management   that  has  been  put   into  the 
development  of  these  inventions. 


Novel,  and  psychologically  very  effective.  Just  one  incon- 
spicuous reference  to  the  article  by  name 


his  commission  for  the  performance  of  a  specific 
duty.  Failure  to  perform  that  duty  while  accept- 
ing payment  argues  a  moral  turpitude  which  at 
once  discredits  the  honesty  of  even  the  limited 
service  which  the  agent  engages  to  render. 

The  necessity  of  skilled  counsel  in  employing 
the  far-reaching  influence  of  advertising  is  recog- 
nized by  the  publisher  in  the  creation  of  the 
agent.  So  vital  a  force  should  be  directed  by  the 
most  experienced  advice  obtainable.  The  employ- 
ment of  a  counsellor  whose  honesty  may  be  so 
readily  impugned  is  an  inexplicable  folly.  To  have 
any  but  the  best  advice  involves  a  wholly  unnec- 
essary risk. 

The  rate  of  commission  is  fixed  by  the  leading 
publishers  at  a  figure  sufficient  to  cover  the  mini- 
mum service  that  an  agent  must  render  to  ensure 
the  success  of  the  advertiser  and  is  paid  solely 
because  the  stability  of  the  publisher's  business 
must  depend  on  the  measure  of  success  which  ad- 
vertisers obtain. 

It  is  frequently  necessary  that  the  agent's  serv- 
ice shall  include  a  great  variety  of  activities  for 
which  the  commission  in  no  way  compensates 
him.  He  customarily  makes  additional  charges  to 
cover  these  extra  services. 

Another  mistaken  idea  which  deludes  the 
manufacturer  in  selecting  his  agent  is  that  of 
"plans  submitted  in  advance."  Some  agents  will 

80 


offer,  some  manufacturers  will  demand,  an  antic- 
ipatory plan  of  campaign,  with  a  complete  proph- 
ecy of  what  should  be  done.  Accounts  are  some- 
times placed  on  such  a  basis.  It  is  always  easy  to 
get  reports,  elaborate  as  you  wish,  apparently 
profound,  heavy  with  tabulation  and  charts,  and 
ringing  with  recommendations  which  are  to  the 
initiated  more  or  less  trite.  But  the  fallacy  of  try- 
ing to  prescribe  a  course  of  treatment  for  a  patient 
whose  condition  is  not  yet  diagnosed  should  be 
clear.  No  lawyer  submits  a  brief  before  he  is  chosen 
as  counsel.  It  is  quite  as  unlikely  that  an  adver- 
tising campaign  could  be  properly  laid  out  by 
a  person  who  has  never  been  inside  your  busi- 
ness. 

Those  national  advertisers  who  do  not  employ 
an  advertising  agent,  representing  less  than  10 
per  cent,  of  the  total  expenditures  for  advertising, 
make  no  saving  by  conducting  their  business  di- 
rect. In  most  cases  they  are  actually  losing  by  it, 
because  an  agent  would  presumably  be  able 
through  his  broader  experience  to  increase  the 
effectiveness  of  what  they  are  doing.  The  pub- 
lisher, knowing  that  the  agent  can  and  does  add 
to  the  value  of  his  space,  must  be  consistent  and 
charge  the  advertiser  who  does  not  take  advan- 
tage of  the  service  to  which  he  is  entitled,  the  full 
rate.  No  reputable  publication  allows  any  rebate 
to  such  advertisers. 

81 


To  the  man  who  is  bewildered  by  the  difficulty 
of  finding  the  right  agent  the  publisher  offers  his 
aid.  Large  publishers  naturally  have  better  oppor- 
tunities to  know  the  work  of  all  agents  than  any 
one  else.  They  are  able  to  recommend  the  agents 
who  seem  best  equipped  to  serve  any  particular 
business. 

This  recommendation  will  be  conscientious. 
For  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  publishers  to  have 
each  advertising  campaign  in  the  most  capable 
hands  possible.  The  agent  is  paid  by  the  publisher 
to  see  that  the  power  of  advertising  is  efficiently 
used,  thus  promoting  the  permanency  of  adver- 
tising. As  in  any  other  business,  reorders  come 
only  through  satisfaction  given.  The  publisher's 
attitude  may  be  selfish,  but  it  is  logical  and  entirely 
legitimate,  for  the  success  of  the  client  must  be 
paramount,  both  with  the  publisher  and  the 
agent. 

The  interests  of  all  are  one  and  the  same. 
Although  paid  by  the  publisher,  the  agent  serves 
the  advertiser.  He  is  responsible  to  no  one  pub- 
lisher, and  can  place  the  advertising  of  any  account 
in  any  of  the  thousands  of  publications.  He  deals, 
on  the  other  hand,  with  individual  advertisers.  The 
conscientious  agent  generally  accepts  only  non- 
competing  accounts.  He  will  identify  himself  with 
only  one  manufacturer  in  one  line  and  give  him 
the  best  he  has. 

82 


There  is  continual  debate  about  the  true  status 
of  the  advertising  agent,  and  frequently  agita- 
tion for  a  change  in  the  methods  by  which  he  is 
paid. 

Such  agitation  should  not  be  accepted  too  seri- 
ously. It  will  not  change  present  relations.  It  will, 
in  fact,  cement  them  closer,  and  result  in  greater 
discrimination  in  the  search  for  real  service,  and 
in  a  greater  sense  of  responsibility  on  the  part 
of  the  agent.  Thus  it  will  result  in  more  uniformly 
good  service. 

A  change  in  the  present  system  would  increase 
the  cost  of  advertising  to  the  advertiser  and  to 
the  publisher.  If  the  agent  were  paid  by  the  ad- 
vertiser, he  would  have  far  less  incentive  than  he 
has  now  to  do  promotive  work,  and  would  have 
far  less  range  of  experience.  The  result  would  be 
less  efficient  service  and  a  consequent  decrease  in 
the  amount  of  advertising. 

Agents,  advertising  managers  and  publishers 
alike  owe  their  present  advertising  success  di- 
rectly to  the  work  done  in  the  past  by  the  agency. 
Any  movement  for  progress  must  be  based  upon 
a  recognition  of  the  present  tri-partite  relation, 
and  improvement  must  be  sought  through  an  evo- 
lution which  will  have  the  sole  purpose  of  bring- 
ing about  a  fuller  understanding  of  the  force  of 
advertising,  and  how  it  may  be  utilized  to  the  best 
advantage  of  the  advertiser.  Necessarily,  this  also 

83 


means  to  the  best  advantage  of  the  publisher  and 
the  advertising  agent. 

After  all,  the  agent  is  the  real  advertising  man. 
Those  agencies  which  are  inefficient  are  worth  far 
less  than  they  are  receiving,  and  will  disappear 
by  a  natural  process  of  elimination.  Those  which 
are  honest  and  fearless,  and  which  render  intelli- 
gent, effective  service  to  both  advertisers  and 
publishers,  are  underpaid.  They  give  advice  and 
do  work  of  immense  importance,  advice  and  work 
which  very  often  spell  the  whole  success  of  a  busi- 
ness or  a  publication.  And  yet,  because  their  call- 
ing is  so  young  and  the  abuses  have  been  so  much 
more  apparent  then  the  merits,  they  still  have  to 
apologize  for  their  calling.  They  are  not  credited 
with  the  brains  they  have. 

Let  the  prospective  advertiser  approach  his 
agent  with  the  same  respect  which  he  accords  to 
the  engineer  who  designs  his  power-house,  the 
lawyer  who  draws  up  his  articles  of  incorporation, 
the  banker  who  floats  his  securities.  The  agent's 
work  is  to  the  advertiser  more  basic  than  a  brick 
foundation,  more  intricate  than  a  legal  brief,  more 
vital  than  any  stock-selling  campaign  ever  de- 
vised. 

Selected  with  wise  precaution,  then  given  free 
rein,  he  may  become  a  silent  partner  in  your  busi- 
ness, and  worthy  your  highest  respect  as  such. 


VI 

Advertising  and  the  Consumer 


PEOPLE  read  advertising.  That  is  why  it 
pays. 
Usually  people  read  it  because  they  like  to. 
Experts  say  that  we  study  street-car  cards  be- 
cause if  we  didn't  we'd  be  staring  at  either  the 
faces  or  the  feet  of  our  fellow  passengers  opposite. 
Billboards,  electric  signs  and  the  like  are  thrust 
upon  our  vision.  Circular  letters  insinuate  them- 
selves into  our  attention  by  posing  as  personal. 
Booklets  attract  us  by  their  novelty  or  beauty. 
Newspaper  advertising  catches  our  eye  as  we 
skim  the  day's  news — frequently  it  is  part  of  the 
day's  news.* 

Magazine  advertising  we  invariably  read  be-v 
cause  it  interests  us.  Many  of  us  scan  the  adver- 
tising pages  before  we  read  the  stories  and 
articles.  We  read  our  magazine  at  times  when  no 
important  matters  are  pressing  for  attention, 
in  moments  that  might  otherwise  be  idle,  in 
slippered  ease  at  evening,  or  on  the  long  railway 

*  It  is  said  that  a  Philadelphia  paper  upon  losing  Wanamaker's  big 
daily  announcements  suffered  an  immediate  drop  of  20,000  in  circula- 
tion. The  story  of  the  day's  shopping  was  as  important  to  prospective 
shoppers  as  the  story  of  yesterday's  happenings. 

85 


journey.  We  have  paid  for  the  privilege  of  reading 
it,  and  all  its  contents  deserve  our  best  perusal. 

Mr.  Dooley  says,  "What  I  object  to  is  whin  I 
pay  tin  or  fifteen  cents  f'r  a  magazine  expectin' 
to  spind  me  avenin'  improvin'  me  mind  with  th' 
latest  thoughts  in  advertisin',  to  find  more  thin  a 
quarter  if  th'  whole  book  devoted  to  lithrachoor." 

Rudyard  Kipling  wrote  to  a  friend  who  sent 
him  an  American  magazine  with  the  advertising 
pages  torn  out  to  save  postage:  "Next  time  you 
keep  the  front  part  and  send  me  the  ads.  I  can 
write  stories  myself." 

Advertising  is  news — news  for  the  house- 
keeper and  the  home  owner,  for  the  man  who 
wants  an  automobile,  the  woman  who  is  buying 
new  clothing  or  any  one  of  a  hundred  daily  neces- 
sities and  luxuries.  It  is  up  to  the  minute.  The 
leading  fiction  may  deal  with  the  Court  of  King 
Arthur;  the  back  cover  advertisement  must  deal 
with  tomorrow.  It  has  been  said  that  "  some  folks 
find  the  cereal  advertisements  as  interesting  as 
the  serial  stories." 

Anne  O'Hagan  makes  one  of  her  characters  say : 
"I  learn  of  new  inventions  before  the  shops  begin 
to  handle  them.  I  receive  whole,  copious  courses 
of  instruction  in  household  arts  merely  by  '  writ- 
ing for  booklet.'  I  learned  how  to  take  off  varnish, 
how  to  paint,  enamel,  stain  and  finish  woodwork, 
and  how  to  do  over  furniture  by  writing  to  the 

86 


All  Eyes  are  on  Baltimo^^ 
These  Days        ^*^^ 


As  Hostess  to 

the  Democratic 

National  Convention 

Baltimore  is  Making 

Political  History 

these  days. 

For  the  last  six  months 
Baltimore  has  been 
making  clothing  history 
that  has  effectively  and 
permanently  revolu- 
tionized the  values  in 
medium-priced  clothes. 

SfylepIus<H»|7 
Clothes  *l/ 

"The  same  price  the  world  over" 

are  adding  fame  to  Balti- 
more's name  for  doing  big 
things  in  a  bi^  way. 

Look  far  the  Styleplvs  taM  in  Ike  coat. 

Look  for  the  Styleplus  guarantee  in  the  packet. 

If  there  is  :>>>  Styleplus  dealer  it;  vour  t»\v«,  write 
fur  style  fi-Ukr  and  vwnplc*  of  Stykplus  f.sbrits. 

HENRY  SONNEBORN  &  CO. 

Baltimore,  Md. 


Timely — the  news  type  of  adver- 
tisement 


paint  makers  for  their  booklets.  Take  advertise- 
ments seriously?  Of  course  I  do.  It's  the  only  way 
for  any  woman  to  take  them  who  ever  buys  any- 
thing." 

How  to  make  this  phenomenal  interest  of  mil- 
lions of  consumers  in  the  advertising  pages  result 
in  the  purchase  of  his  own  particular  wares  is  the 
problem  of  the  manufacturer.  With  what  success 
he  has  been  doing  it  all  the  world  knows.  The 
thing  runs  in  a  circle — unless  advertisements  were 
read  they  would  not  be  successful,  and  unless 
they  were  successful  they  would  not  be  read.  The 
individual  advertiser  entering  the  field  today  may 
be  confident  that  his  advertisement  will  get  all  the 
attention  it  deserves.  The  rest  depends  upon  him. 

As  stated  earlier,  there  are  two  ways  of  getting 
returns  from  advertising;  one  by  inducing  the 
customer  to  take  your  goods  off  the  dealers' 
shelves;  the  other  by  inducing  the  consumer  to 
write  to  you  direct  and  have  you  send  him  the 
article  by  mail,  freight  or  express.  The  first  is 
called  " general  publicity";  the  second,  "mail 
order"  business. 

When  we  speak  of  advertising  we  are  usually 
thinking  of  general  advertising.  By  far  the  greater 
part  of  national  publicity  is  a  message  to  the 
reader  asking  him  to  go  to  the  retailer  for  the  ad- 
vertiser's product,  and  much  of  the  retail  adver- 
tising hinges  upon  this. 
88 


Here  is  an  Advertisement 

that  is  not  trying  to  sell  you  anything 


The  Delco  Electric  System 

Cranking — Lighting — Ignition 


fhe  Dayton  Engineering  Laboratories  Company,  Dayton,  Ohie 

-        ._„_•,  | 


•HI 


A  true  type  of  general  advertising.  You  couldn't  buy  the  article 
direct  if  you  tried 


The  largest  general  advertisers  in  the  country 
are  the  packing  houses,  soap  makers,  breakfast 
food  manufacturers,  cracker  bakers  and  baking 
powder  companies,  the  makers  of  automobiles 
and  their  accessories,  tobacco,  men's  clothing  and 
one  or  two  other  products.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  this  is  not  because  these  goods  are  more  sus- 
ceptible of  advertising,  but  generally  because  one 
manufacturer  in  each  of  these  lines  has  been  a 
pioneer  and  has  proved  that  great  profits  can  be 
derived  from  publicity. 

A  first  essential  of  general  advertising  is  a 
trade-mark.  If  you  are  to  teach  people  to  "de- 
mand" your  goods  you  must  give  these  goods  a 
distinctive  personality,  a  name  by  which  they  can 
be  called  for  over  the  counter — a  trade-mark.  The 
determination  to  buy  what  you  yourself  can 
identify  is  the  great  "outside  selling  force"  with 
which  modern  producers  must  reckon.  Your  own 
family  is  buying  ten  trade-marked  products  now 
for  every  one  they  bought  ten  years  ago. 

The  trade-mark  must  be  advertised  as  well  as 
the  product.  There  are  few  exceptions  to  this  rule. 
The  National  Cash  Register  Company  has  found 
it  worth  while  to  advertise  without  saying  much 
about  National  registers.  "See  that  hump"  dis- 
appeared from  the  DeLong  advertising  when 
seven-eighths  of  the  hook-and-eye  trade  had  been 
captured.  Recently  a  striking  campaign  was  car- 

90 


ried  on  in  trade  papers  to  promote  a  vogue  for 
button  shoes  as  against  laced  shoes,  but  the  ad- 
vertisements bore  no  indication  of  their  origin. 

In  such  bread-upon-the-waters  publicity  few 
are  privileged  to  indulge,  for  most  of  us  have  our 
competitors,  or  at  least  our  imitators. 

The  trade-mark  then — even  if  it  be  only  the 
name  of  the  firm — is  a  necessary  preliminary  to  a 
general  advertising  campaign.  It  is  the  constant 
growth  of  the  trade-mark  buying  habit  that  has 
transformed  advertising  from  a  gamble  to  an  in- 
vestment. The  reason  for  this  growth  is  the  con- 
fidence which  people  put  in  an  article  upon  which 
a  manufacturer  is  willing  to  fix  his  name.  Trade- 
marking  and  advertising  are  twin  pledges  of  good 
faith. 

When  a  manufacturer  advertises  he  volun- 
tarily goes  into  a  glass  house.  The  product,  the 
process  of  manufacture,  the  method  of  sale,  the 
price — every  detail  is  thrown  into  high  relief.  The 
public,  like  children,  fear  the  dark.  To  our  people 
a  firm  that  advertises  is  constantly  in  sight  and 
cannot  be  an  object  of  suspicion  or  distrust. 
Every  advertiser  gives  a  bond.  His  very  adver- 
tising makes  his  market  increasingly  critical. 

It  has  always  been  true  that  every  fraudulent 
sale  makes  an  enemy  while  every  honorable  sale 
makes  a  friend.  Advertising  changes  that  rule 
only  in  greatly  intensifying  it.  It  is  the  trade- 

91 


mark  which  serves  as  the  means  of  "spotting" 
the  product  next  time. 

This  is  what  builds  good-will  —  technically 
known  as  "consumer  demand."  When  the  corner 
grocery  changes  hands  the  location  and  the  sign 
over  the  door  stand  for  the  "good- will"  of  the 
neighborhood  trade,  on  which  the  retiring  owner 
sets  a  very  real  value.  With  the  national  adver- 
tiser the  trade-mark  is  the  symbol,  and  its  value 
in  many  cases  becomes  enormous.  Many  a  firm 
would  rather  have  all  its  buildings  and  its  stock 
on  hand  wiped  out  by  fire,  and  all  its  standing 
orders  cancelled,  than  lose  its  trade-mark.  The 
trade-mark  "Uneeda,"  of  which  there  have  been 
over  400  imitations  and  infringements,  is  valued 
at  more  than  a  million  dollars  a  letter,  or  over 
$6,000,000  in  all.  The  monetary  value  of  the  Vic- 
tor Talking  Machine  Company's  trade-mark— 
the  familiar  dog  and  "His  Master's  Voice" 
could  hardly  be  overestimated.  N.  K.  Fairbank 
is  quoted  as  saying  that  $10,000,000  could  not 
buy  the  Gold  Dust  Twins  and  the  little  Fairy. 

How  many  of  us  realize  that  "Kodak"  and 
"Vaseline"  are  names  controlled  by  individual 
manufacturers?  These  words  never  existed  until 
they  were  coined  as  trade-marks,  and  attained 
their  present  popularity  through  advertising. 

It  is  advertising — backed  up,  of  course,  by  hon- 
est quality — which  has  built  the  immense  values 
92 


National  Biscuit  In-er-Seal  trade-mark  and  some  imitations 
(From  "The  Law  of  Advertising  and  Sales,"  by  dowry  Chapman) 


of  such  trade-marks  as  these.  The  inference  is 
unmistakable. 

The  manufacturer  who  is  about  to  advertise 
should  seek  above  all  to  obtain  a  good  trade- 
mark. It  is  difficult,  but  worth  while.  He  should 
enlist  the  aid  of  his  agent,  of  the  publications 
which  he  intends  to  use,  the  men  with  whom  he 
does  business,  his  employees,  and  all  his  clever 
acquaintances.  He  wants  something  striking  to 
the  eye,  easy  to  pronounce,  hard  to  forget,  and 
inevitably  suggestive  of  the  use  and  the  quality 
of  the  goods. 

The  trade-name  Sapolio,  perhaps  the  best  of  the 
kind  ever  invented,  was  suggested  by  the  family 
physician  of  Mr.  Enoch  Morgan.  Many  trade- 
marks, however,  have  been  sought  and  found  far 
afield — some  even  by  public  prize  contests. 

There  have  been  good  trade-marks  which  have 
become  widely  known  but  which  have  failed  to 
sell  the  goods  because  not  closely  enough  tied 
up  to  them.  Many  advertising  men  believe  that 
the  "  Sunny  Jim  "  campaign  of  a  decade  ago  failed 
in  this  respect.  We  all  knew  "Sunny  Jim,"  but  do 
we  know  what  he  stood  for?  As  a  result — unfortu- 
nately for  the  publishers — of  the  "Yellow  Kid" 
series  of  Sunday  comics  the  disparaging  term 
"yellow  journalism"  became  current.  By  which 
it  may  be  seen  that  the  trade-mark  idea  has  its 
variations. 

94 


Having  obtained  a  good  trade-mark  idea — or, 
better,  a  number  of  ideas — the  manufacturer 
should  do  nothing  else  until  he  has  called  upon 
his  lawyers  for  aid.  For  the  race  for  a  good  trade- 
mark is  so  keen  and  the  racers  so  numerous  that 
many  men  are  likely  to  hit  upon  the  same  idea. 
Twenty  applications  a  day  for  the  registration  of 
trade-marks  are  made  at  the  United  States  Patent 
Office. 

There  were  5,020  new  trade-marks  registered 
in  1912,  and  more  than  12,000  cases  are  pending. 
One-half  of  the  existing  trade-marks  were  regis- 
tered during  the  past  five  years.  From  this  it  may 
be  inferred  how  difficult  it  is  going  to  be  five  or 
ten  years  hence  for  the  manufacturer  who  does 
not  very  soon  set  about  obtaining  a  proper  iden- 
tification for  his  goods. 

Of  course,  it  is  most  unwise,  if  any  extended 
campaign  is  contemplated,  not  to  obtain  through 
registration,  protection  against  infringement  and 
assurance  that  you  are  not  infringing  others. 

From  15  to  20  per  cent,  of  all  applications  for 
trade-marks  are  rejected  for  one  reason  or 
another.  They  may  duplicate  names  already 
registered.  They  may  use  descriptive  terms  which 
no  one  has  a  right  to  monopolize,  they  may  use 
geographical  names  or  names  of  living  celebrities 
under  wrong  conditions.  In  these  and  other  re- 
spects the  law  of  trade-marking  is  so  complex  and 

95 


full  of  pitfalls  that  the  wise  course  is  always  to 
consult  the  advertising  agent  and  the  lawyer. 

An  illustration  of  the  need  of  care  is  found  in 
the  experience  of  the  New  Haven  Clock  Com- 
pany. When  this  firm  first  brought  out  its  "Tat- 
too" alarm  it  made  the  mistake  of  popularizing 
the  word  "intermittent,"  which  cannot  be  regis- 
tered because  it  is  descriptive,  with  the  result  that 
competitors  were  able  to  cash  in  heavily  on  the 
idea  and  the  advertising  of  this  new  feature. 

National  advertising,  entered  upon  with  cau- 
tion and  vigorously  followed  out  to  its  logical  end, 
is  a  powerful  weapon  against  unfair  competition. 
To  the  protection  which  the  law  gives,  it  adds  the 
surety  of  public  support. 

The  second  broad  classification  of  magazine 
advertising  is  mail-order. 

The  mail-order  method  of  merchandizing  is  so 
direct  and  intimate  that  it  allows  a  minimum  of 
debate  as  to  the  profits  from  the  advertising  or 
as  to  the  relative  value  of  the  publications  used. 
Its  results  are  apparent,  so  that  the  advertiser  can 
at  once  and  with  considerable  accuracy  estimate 
the  actual  results  of  any  given  advertisement  or 
of  the  whole  campaign.  The  amount  of  mail-order 
business  appearing  year  after  year  in  the  adver- 
tising pages  of  any  leading  periodical  is  pretty 
conclusive  evidence  that  this  advertising  is  effec- 
tive and  profitable. 

96 


From  the  infinite  variety  of  goods  regularly 
sold  by  this  method  it  would  seem  that  mail- 
order advertising  reaches  every  class.  The  field  is 
so  large  and  so  specialized  that  a  generalization 
is  of  little  value.  Toys  worth  ten  cents  and  hand- 
some drawn-linen  shirtwaists  worth  $100  have 
been  advertised  successfully. 

Reorders — the  result  of  satisfaction — are,  as 
a  rule,  as  necessary  in  the  mail-order  business  as 
in  any  other.  One  old  and  successful  mail-order 
advertiser,  for  instance,  sells  goods  at  five  dollars. 
His  gross  profit  is  one  dollar,  and  it  costs  him 
three  dollars  to  make  every  first  sale.  His  initial 
loss,  therefore,  is  two  dollars  per  customer.  Ob- 
viously, reorders  are  imperative. 

Unless  the  advertiser  has  a  product  which  is 
likely  to  be  worn  out  and  replaced  soon,  or  unless 
he  has  a  "line"  of  other  articles  with  which  he 
can  follow  up  his  first  customers,  mail-order  ad- 
vertising is  usually  unsuccessful. 

The  mail-order  advertiser  using  magazines  and 
weeklies  carefully  "keys"  his  copy  in  order  to 
find  out  which  publications  or  which  particular 
advertisements  are  bringing  the  best  results,  and 
which  are  failing  to  draw  trade.  There  are  many 
ways  of  keying  an  advertisement.  It  may  be  done 
by  a  variation  of  the  street  address  or  the  "de- 
partment" to  which  the  customer  is  asked  to 
write.  It  is  often  done  by  a  coupon  printed  in  the 

97 


advertisement  and  designed  to  be  cut  off,  filled  in 
and  mailed  as  an  order.  The  coupon — invented 
by  Ralph  Tilton  when  advertising  the  Century 
Dictionary — has  the  double  advantage  of  indi- 
cating the  publication  which  produced  the  in- 
quiry and  of  encouraging  the  customer  to  order, 
by  saving  him  the  trouble  of  writing  a  letter.  The 
results  shown  by  the  replies  are  tabulated  for 
comparison  and  guidance  in  future  advertising. 

But  the  mail-order  advertiser  labors  under  a 
heavy  disadvantage.  He  must  get  direct  and  im- 
mediate returns.  He  can  hope  to  get  only  a  small 
percentage  of  the  people  he  interests,  as  he  has 
no  local  dealers  to  follow  it  up. 

Of  every  hundred  people  who  read  your  adver- 
tisement one,  let  us  say,  sends  you  an  order  direct. 
Out  of  the  remaining  ninety-nine  there  must  be 
some,  say  twenty-five,  that  need  your  product, 
but  are  not  convinced  to  the  point  of  sending  you 
the  money.  If  you  are  depending  entirely  on  direct 
orders  you  may  never  hear  from  these  other 
twenty -five  people;  but  if  your  goods  are  distrib- 
uted in  stores  many  of  these  twenty -five  people 
will  sooner  or  later  purchase  your  goods. 

We  all  know  how  it  is.  Constant  repetition  im- 
presses us  more  than  an  initially  eloquent  plea. 
The  insurance  agent  gets  us  on  his  tenth  call 
much  more  often  than  he  does  his  first.  Col. 
Roosevelt's  "bully"  became  worthy  of  comment 

98 


Accept  "Model  Kitchen  Book"  Free 

Si«.  Tim  CO.PO. 


Good  for  on,  "Model  Kitchrc  Bo,*."  Irlk  ho.  In  arrangr  you' 


The  Hoosier  Manufacturing  Company 


OAKLAND 
MOTOR  CAR 

COMPANY 
Pontiac.  Mich 

Please  send  me  your  1913 
Oakland  Catalog 


TYPES  of  COUPONS.  Note  variation  in  size  and  styl 
Nos.  2.6. 7and  9  are  keyed.  No.9  is  unique  in  tkat  it  utilizes  th 
,  igiving  me  inquirer  plenty  of  room  in 
destroying  the  matter  which  hacks  it  up 


only  after  he  had  said  it  repeatedly.  I  may  notice 
a  certain  advertisement  one  week  and  pass  it  by. 
The  next  week  I  see  it  again,  and  say,  "  Oh,  yes, 
I've  read  about  that  before."  Seven  days  later  it 
comes  along,  and  I  wonder  if  that  isn't  worth  in- 
vestigating. The  larger  the  space  it  occupies,  the 
more  nearly  certain  it  is  to  come  to  my  attention 
again.  About  the  fourth  or  fifth  time  I  see  it,  it 
seems  as  if  I'd  known  it  all  my  life,  and  when  I 
need  such  an  article  that's  the  one  I  buy. 

It  may  be  seen  that  the  mail-order  advertiser 
wastes  a  lot  of  his  powder,  and  raises  the  first  sell- 
ing cost  of  each  article.  For  this  reason  every  in- 
quiry must  be  worked  to  the  limit  to  produce  a 
sale,  and  every  sale  calculated  to  produce  more 
sales  and  reduce  the  ultimate  selling  expense. 

Furthermore,  mail-order  advertising  is  not  so 
likely  to  produce  other  customers.  It  has  to  take 
the  place  of  salesmen,  retailer  and  jobber.  In  con- 
sequence it  has  not  the  complementary  aid  of 
these  other  forces  in  reaching  its  fullest  efficiency. 
Shipping  goods  direct  to  the  consumer  arouses  in- 
terest in  no  one  except  that  consumer.  Distribu- 
tion of  a  trade-marked  article  through  the  usual 
channels  arouses  considerable  interest  by  means  of 
window  and  counter  displays,  and  by  the  mouth- 
to-mouth  advertising  of  the  shopping  public. 

For  this  reason,  too,  the  direct  returns  from 
general  advertising  are  not  only  undependable 

100 


METHOD  o^  CHECKING  RESULTS  in  a 
MAIL  ORDER  BUSINESS 


but  actually  misleading  if  used  as  the  sole  crite- 
rion by  which  to  judge  the  results  of  national  ad- 
vertising. An  estimate  of  the  amount  of  adver- 
tised goods  sold  by  a  given  advertisement,  where 
these  are  sold  through  the  trade,  cannot  be  ar- 
rived at  by  comparing  the  number  of  inquiries 
received  from  corresponding  space  by  mail-order 
advertisers.  Such  comparisons  are  the  result  of 
wrong  analyses.  In  all  general  advertising  most  of 
the  effective  force  of  an  advertisement,  in  some 
cases  all  of  it,  is  exerted  indirectly.  A  reader  will 
not  write  you  if  you  have  a  live  dealer  in  his 
town.  You  don't  want  him  to.  In  such  advertising 
few  of  the  resulting  sales  can  ever  be  traced  di- 
rectly to  the  advertisement.  It  is  only  by  aggre- 
gates over  comparatively  long  periods  that  the 
true  effects  of  publicity  can  be  judged. 

The  nub  of  the  matter  is  this :  If  one  is  adver- 
tising his  business  on  a  sufficiently  broad  basis, 
and  for  a  long  enough  pull,  very  little  of  his  adver- 
tising goes  to  waste.  Evidence  is  bound  to  show 
up  some  day  and  prove  how  copy  which  he 
thought  dead  long  ago,  has  been  working  over- 
time for  him. 

Mail-order  advertising  builds  comparatively 
little  good-will.  General  advertising  specializes  in 
good-will.  The  man  who  uses  the  latter  is  in  a 
position  more  nearly  to  utilize  the  entire  strength 
of  the  great  force  which  he  sets  in  motion. 
102 


VII 

Advertising  and  the  Retailer 

OF  the  millions  spent  in  general  national 
advertising  every  year  the  greater  por- 
tion must  flow  back  over  the  counters  of 
the  retail  merchant.  Very  few  manufacturers 
spend  as  much  as  10  per  cent,  of  their  income  for 
advertising.  That  means  that  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions of  dollars  must  be  paid  annually  by  consum- 
ers to  retail  merchants  in  purchases  of  nationally 
advertised  goods. 

All  goods  sold  by  general  advertising  reach  the 
customer  through  the  retailer.  The  producer  de- 
velops his  own  public,  and  simultaneously  seeks 
the  dealers  who  sell  to  that  public.  Adequate  re- 
tail representation  and  dealer  cooperation  in  push- 
ing your  line  are  necessary  adjuncts  to  a  national 
campaign. 

The  retailer  has  the  strategic  position,  and  his 
aid  must  be  obtained.  His  interest  must  be 
aroused  and  carefully  continued. 

There  are  in  this  country  three-quarters  of  a 
million  retail  stores  of  all  classes,  many,  of  course, 
handling  goods  of  kinds  not  now  advertised. 
There  are  1,700  department  stores  and  148,000 
general  stores  which  carry  goods  of  many  de- 

103 


scriptions  and  deserve  the  attention  of  almost 
every  national  advertiser. 

The  number  of  stores  in  the  principal  retail 
lines  is  astonishingly  large: 

Dry  Goods 28,000 

Groceries 56,000 

Clothing #0,000 

Furniture 27,000 

Boots  and  Shoes 18,000 

Drugs 42,000 

Jewelry 20,000 

Hardware 30,000 

Men's  Furnishings . .  .  .  * 8,000 

Books  and  Stationery 12,000 

These  stores  are  "indexes  of  the  business  situ- 
ation. "  When  they  feel  hopeful,  business  booms 
and  Wall  Street  smiles.  When  they  feel  depressed, 
they  curtail  their  buying  and  factories  run  on  part 
time.  They  are  the  heart  of  American  commerce. 

Whether  it  be  the  giant  department  store, 
which  is  as  much  an  institution  as  the  great  thor- 
oughfare of  the  city,  or  whether  it  be  the  general 
store  in  the  village  where  the  farmer  goes  for 
his  pitchfork  and  the  barefoot  child  for  his  taffy, 
the  retail  store  commands  the  selling  situation. 

The  retailer  speaks  with  a  voice  of  authority  to 
the  people  of  his  community.  They  look  to  him 
for  that  refinement  of  merchandizing — service. 
104 


He  is  nearest  the  consumer.  He  extends  credit  to 
customers  who  would  be  unknown  to  the  manu- 
facturer. He  makes  possible  small  purchases.  He 
shows  goods  in  alluring  display.  He  performs  di- 
rect service,  aiding  in  selection  and  making  ex- 
changes readily.  His  boys  carry  baskets  to  the 
neighboring  farms,  or  his  motor  trucks  deliver 
swiftly  for  miles  around. 

The  importance  of  adequate  retail  distribution 
cannot  be  overestimated.  With  it  every  dollar  ex- 
pended in  national  advertising  will  yield  its  maxi- 
mum return;  without  it,  in  the  long  run,  national 
advertising  will  fail.  The  retailer's  cooperation 
depends  entirely  upon  the  desirability  of  your 
goods,  the  strength  of  your  advertising  campaign, 
and  on  the  assurance  given  him  that  if  he  works 
for  you  you  will  work  for  him. 

The  retailer  is  not  to  be  coerced.  Representa- 
tion and  distribution  may  be  in  whole  or  in  part 
obtained  by  national  advertising,  but  they  cannot 
be  retained  by  that  alone.  Only  an  intelligent, 
liberal,  painstaking  dealer  policy  can  retain  them. 

There  are  people  who  believe  that  advertising 
is  a  compelling  power,  to  be  used  as  a  means  of 
saving  a  part  of  the  retailer's  profit,  or  of  forcing 
powerful  stores  to  carry  goods  which  they  do  not 
want  to  carry.  They  believe  that  having  devel- 
oped an  irresistible  demand  the  manufacturer  is 
in  the  enviable  position  where  the  dealer  must 

105 


W 


tf 


(M  CO 


tfiliitf* 

iiitir\.. 

Ifsss     5- 

pa 


Secti 


I 


x  I 


carry  his  goods,  in  spite  of  everything,  to  hold 
customers.  They  believe  that  they  can  throw  to 
the  four  winds  not  only  all  regard  for  the  retailer's 
just  profits  but  even  all  ordinary  business  pre- 
cautions and  courtesies. 

It  has  been  done — is  now,  here  and  there. 

Any  retail  merchant,  whether  he  be  proprietor 
of  a  great  department  store  or  of  a  corner  grocery, 
can  cite  instances  where  a  manufacturer,  over- 
secure  of  his  entrenchment  in  public  demand,  be- 
came domineering,  disregarded  the  details  of  or- 
ders, sent  sizes,  patterns  or  qualities  different 
from  those  the  retailer  wanted,  or  refused  to  allow 
the  needed  margin  of  profit. 

A  man  is  in  business  for  a  life-time,  not  a  year. 
Short-sighted  policies  mean  short-lived  prosper- 
ity. The  retailer's  hold  is  constant,  and  his  turn 
comes  sooner  or  later.  "Substitution"  has  been 
one  of  his  methods  of  cutting  into  the  sales  of  the 
arrogant  or  penurious  manufacturer.  He  can 
adopt  a  more  or  less  studied  policy  of  not  selling 
any  particular  brand  of  goods  unless  they  are  de- 
manded, and,  when  customers  do  ask  for  them, 
of  recommending  some  other  brand,  the  quality 
and  supply  of  which  are  certain  and  upon  which 
a  fair  profit  can  be  obtained. 

The  net  result  of  such  conflict  is  needless  waste. 
Waste  of  the  manufacturer's  effort,  because  he 
drives  the  retailer  to  counteract  the  good  impres- 
108 


sion  created  by  his  advertising  in  the  minds  of 
hundreds  of  customers — waste  of  the  retailer's 
effort,  because  he  is  pulling  against  the  stream  of 
popular  demand  instead  of  accelerating  his  own 
progress  by  rowing  with  it. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  retailer  national 
advertising  creates  a  valuable  partnership.  The 
advertiser,  by  putting  his  name  on  his  goods, 
guarantees  the  maintenance  of  their  quality,  for 
advertising  makes  unforgetable  and  unavoidable 
every  virtue  and  every  fault,  and  inevitably  pins 
the  responsibility  for  either  upon  the  maker. 

The  advertising  of  the  manufacturer  quickens 
the  movement  of  trade  to  the  store  of  the  retailer, 
searching  out  for  him  new  customers.  It  links  his 
store  in  the  minds  of  hundreds  with  the  leading 
national  producers.  It  often  establishes  a  retail 
price  for  the  advertised  commodity,  a  protection 
against  the  cut-rater  who  makes  theatrical  and 
often  deceptive  reductions.  It  creates  in  the  re- 
tailer's own  community  new  wants  which  his  cus- 
tomers might  not  discover  for  themselves.  A 
jeweler  whose  business  in  1908  was  $25,000,  in- 
creased his  sales  in  four  years,  by  featuring  na- 
tionally advertised  clocks,  watches  and  jewelry, 
to  $127,000.*  A  haberdasher  who  threw  out  a  line 
of  unadvertised  collars  and  replaced  it  with  the 

*  Each  year  the  profit  on  new  business  alone  paid  all  the  cost  of  his 
local  publicity. 

109 


Arrow  brand  increased  his  sales  twenty  times  in 
one  year.  Experiences  like  this  may  be  encoun- 
tered in  almost  any  city  or  town. 

When  a  retailer  buys  a  stock  of  advertised 
goods  he  invests  in  standardized  merchandize. 
Selling  them  is  easy,  for  to  his  customers  they  are 
already  half  sold.  An  ordinary  retail  store  turns 
over  its  stock  two  and  one-quarter  to  two  and 
one-half  times  a. year.  The  quick  sale  of  advertised 
goods  can  be  made  to  increase  such  a  rate  of  turn- 
over to  three  or  four  times,  or  more,  thus  getting 
more  return  on  each  dollar  of  capital  invested. 
One  of  the  largest  retail  grocers  in  the  United 
States  is  quoted  as  saying:  "If  I  should  throw  out 
the  advertised  brands  and  handle  only  the  private 
or  non-branded  goods  I  would  need  twice  as  many 
clerks  to  serve  the  same  number  of  customers." 
The  retailer  knows  that  in  buying  advertised 
trade-marked  products  he  is  investing  in  goods  of 
quality  and  reliability. 

Here  is  what  a  prominent  retail  merchant,  after 
twenty  years  of  refusal  to  "push"  any  advertised 
goods,  wrote  finally  to  the  Holeproof  Hosiery 
Company:  "It  is  decidedly  to  my  advantage  to 
have  people  know  that  I  carry  Holeproof,  and 
nothing  but  my  stupidity  prevented  me  from  do- 
ing it  years  ago.  .  .  .  By  mentioning  your  name  I 
am  forcing  you  to  advertise  my  business.  ...  It  is 
absolutely  immaterial  to  me  how  much  you  profit 

110 


The  New  Filene  Store 


A    Men's    Store    Fantasy 
That  Is  Bated  Upon  Facts 


]y|R.  MAINE  comes  to  Boston  for  a  day.     He 

has  traveled  all  night  by  train.      Must 

depart  for  home  by  night  boat     Busy  man! 


retoforc   he  stopped   at  a 
But  he  has  heard  of  the 
New  Filene  Store,  and  he  swings 
off  the   car    at  Wa.' 


Be 
hotel. 


A»  he  staru  for  the  street  a 
mirror  point*  oal  the  need  at 
glow  and  a  Fall  hat  They  are 


Be  carries  a  bag  that  bulges 


An  elevator  whisks  bint  to  the 
eighth  floor,  where  h»  get*  clean 
linen  and  a  svniitbing-up.  Twenty 
minutes  later  he  i«  enjoying  a 
good  breakfast  in  the 
JVot  only  good 
surrounding-. 


An  attendant  hut  brought  the 
morning  papers.  Another  has 
checked  b«  hag.  A  'third  has 
engaged  to  reach  eight  or  ten 
business  friends  by  telephone, 
and  noon  Mr,  Main.:  has  a  list 
showing  when  and  where  these 
friends  may  he  seen.  Two  of 
then,  are  to  meet  him  in  the 
Filene  restaurant  (or  lunch, 

From  brcsklasl  be  goes  down 
to  the  store  barber  shop.  I*KS 
h«  stop  at  being  shared?  iS'o,b« 
take*  the  whole  course—  massage, 
manicure,  ahoe  polish. 

A  boy  bas  brought  to  him  a 
new  shirt,  and  right  in  the  bar- 


Twenty  minntea  later  he  ho 
efcot*n  a  toadc-ready  Fall  suit  and 
«  li«ht.W«igk  Englirf,  tope«t 


He  has  not  been  kept  waiting 
for  merchandise  or  change.     Tfao 

way  through  ptgjhing  robes  bat 
harries  to  him  from  nimble  fin- 
gers at  d«Jc»  nearby. 

Shortly  after  noon  he  returns 

career  through  the  progress  of 
luncheon, 


tiou  bureau,  newapapec  files  and 
time  table*, 

—Purchase*  ot  flowers  that 
are  dispatched  to  the  aont  he  has 
not  time  10  visit, 

•^-Engagement  oi  staterooms 
for  tlip  return  nil, 


theatre  two  weeks  later, 

—Sending    and     receipt    of 


—Sending  of  wirdew  n 
from  the  filenr,  roof  to  triendspn 
outgoing  steamships; 

All  accomplished  so  expedi. 
lioufly  that  about  three  o'clock 
Mr.  Maine  winder*  why  he  hasn't 
a  soliinrj-  bufincss  thing  to  do 
until  boat  time. 

So  be  goes  oat  t*  tee  the 
good  aunt,  after  all. 

And  he  finds  bar  wry  grwaoai 


For  the  fiewcta  an  t 


William  Filene's  Sons  Co. 

Outfitters  to  Women,  Children  and  Men 


Advertising  the  all-round  service  given  by  a  modern 
retail  store 


by  it,  so  long  as  my  business  and  bank  account 
are  increasing." 

Advertising  is  beginning  to  show  promise  of 
lending  important  assistance  in  a  reform  which 
many  retailers  will  be  glad  to  see — the  overthrow 
of^the  cut-price  and  of  the  fraudulent  bargain  sale. 

The  original  slogan  of  the  department  store  was 
price.  Because  of  its  large  purchases,  the  great 
store  was  expected  to  be  able  to  undersell.  In 
order  to  give  color  to  the  claim  of  close  margins, 
prices  were  marked  $4.98  and  39  cents.  Smaller 
stores  naturally  followed  suit. 

The  price-cutting  method  was  accentuated  by 
sales.  The  orginal  theory  of  these  sales  was  a 
clearance  of  the  season's  goods.  Customers  were 
told — often  with  truth — that  because  it  was  nec- 
essary to  have  room  for  new  stocks,  they  could 
buy  the  fag  end  of  older  goods  at  great  savings. 
Trade  responded,  until  the  demand  was  greater 
than  the  supply.  The  opportunity  being  too  good 
to  lose,  stores  began  to  buy  other  goods  to  eke 
out  the  stock  that  was  supposedly  an  encum- 
brance. Soon  the  buying  of  special  goods  for 
mark-down  sales  became  in  many  stores  a  regular 
feature  of  merchandizing,  and  there  was  an  almost 
continuous  sales  performance. 

Makers  began  to  turn  out  flashy  goods  de- 
signed especially  for  sales  purposes.  Of  course 
these  wares  did  not  have  the  quality  they  were 
112 


supposed  to  represent.  The  woman  who  bought 
an  $18  suit  for  $11.99  was  apt  to  find  that  she  had 
really  bought  an  $11.99  suit. 

This  sort  of  thing  could  of  course  succeed  for  a 
while.  But,  repeated  for  a  number  of  years,  it  has 
begun  to  kill  itself  off. 

Merchants  themselves  are  realizing  that  the 
fake  sale  and  the  fake  bargain  are  unprofitable, 
and  welcome  any  tendency  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. 

National  advertising  is  shaping  the  tendency. 
By  it  the  consumer,  particularly  the  woman,  is 
being  enlightened.  The  woman  is  becoming  con- 
stantly better  informed,  for  she  reads  her  maga- 
zines, advertisements  and  all,  as  a  pleasure  and  as 
a  business.  She  is.  learning  to  seek,  not  price  alone, 
not  quality  alone,  but  quality  at  a  price. 

Stores  which  try  to  sell  inferior  goods  by  adver- 
tising their  cheapness  are  finding  that  sales  can  be 
forced  only  by  increasingly  loud  advertisements, 
and  that  the  public  seems  to  pay  amazingly  little 
attention  to  the  bargains,  real  or  otherwise,  how- 
ever exploited.  The  stores,  on  the  other  hand, 
which  are  discontinuing  the  fake  bargain  are  find- 
ing that  they  are  building  a  permanent  and  a 
satisfied  patronage. 

The  genuine  clearance  sale  with  genuine  bar- 
gains— the  original  thing — will  always  remain, 
because  it  is  correctly  founded  on  the  law  of  sup- 
114 


ply  and  demand.  But  the  better  stores  will  in- 
creasingly get  as  much  of  their  business  as  possi- 
ble upon  the  straight  basis  of  every-day  sales  of 
quality  goods  at  reasonable  prices. 

National  advertising  is  helping  because  it  is  tell- 
ing the  truth  about  merchandise.  Week  in,  week 
out,  it  is  showing  the  public  pictures  of  good  goods, 
describing  them,  giving  them  a  name,  saying 
"Here,  and  here,  and  here,  are  the  points  at  which 
you  should  look  for  quality  before  you  decide." 

It  is  fixing  standards  of  price,  and  convincing 
purchasers  that  a  certain  thing  is  worth  so  much, 
no  more,  no  less. 

It  is  striving  after  fair  margins  of  profit  for  the 
merchant,  and  square  treatment  all  round.  By 
the  example  of  advertised  goods,  it  is  setting  a 
higher  ideal  for  all  goods — even  those  that  are 
unadvertised  as  yet. 

In  other  words,  advertising  is  helping  toward 
the  universal  adoption  of  the  principle  which 
Jonn  Wanamaker  pioneered  years  ago — one  price, 
the  same  to  every  one,  and  in  its  extension  to  in- 
clude one  price,  the  same  in  every  store  for  goods  of 
the  same  quality. 

If  the  advertiser  uses  the  force  of  advertising 
rationally  and  if  he  and  the  dealer  cooperate 
properly  in  all  business  relations  they  are  weld- 
ing the  strongest  possible  bond — the  interest- 
paying  kind — of  commercial  friendship.  Yoking 

115 


the  power  of  advertising,  which  is  national,  with 
the  power  of  local  prestige  they  have  joined  the 
two  greatest  natural  selling  forces  in  one  well- 
balanced  team.  The  advertiser  creates  a  com- 
placency in  the  mind  of  the  consumer.  The  re- 
tailer turns  it  into  sales. 

The  ways  of  interesting  and  aiding  the  dealer 
in  this  process  are  many  and  various. 

Of  course,  the  first  step  is  to  get  his  store  stock- 
ed. This  usually  precedes  the  advertising. 

Tact  and  an  evidence  of  good  faith  are  exceed- 
ingly important  at  this  point.  The  very  fact  that 
national  advertising  is  known  to  be  a  powerful  in- 
fluence in  the  distribution  of  goods  has  resulted  in 
a  serious  abuse.  Manufacturers  with  more  shrewd- 
ness than  wisdom  have  taken  advantage  of  the 
merchants'  enthusiasm  for  advertising.  They  have 
announced  that  they  are  about  to  inaugurate  a 
campaign  and  have  induced  the  retailers  to  stock 
the  goods  in  order  to  supply  the  expected  de- 
mand. Then  having  taken  large  and  profitable 
orders  all  over  the  country,  they  have  quietly  let 
their  promised  advertising  campaigns  fade  away 
into  a  mere  whisper  or  absolute  silence  and  the 
dealer  has  found  himself  under  the  necessity  of 
selling  the  goods  by  his  own  efforts  or  not  at  all. 

The  result  is  that  the  average  merchant  is  ex- 
ceedingly wary.  Your  mere  assurance  that  you 
are  going  to  advertise  is  not  enough  for  him.  You 
116 


must  back  it  up  with  proof  that  you  are  in  earnest, 
based  either  upon  your  reputation  for  fair  deal- 
ing, if  it  is  known  to  the  merchant,  or  upon  visible 
evidences  of  what  you  are  going  to  do  in  the 
shape  of  proofs  of  your  advertisements  showing 
their  size,  the  publications  you  are  going  to  use 
and  the  length  of  the  campaign. 

This  latter  is  usually  done  by  the  preparation 
of  what  is  known  as  a  "dealer  folder"  or  "dealer 
prospectus,"  which  may  be  sent  to  the  retailers 
in  your  line  in  the  United  States,  and  perhaps  in 
Canada. 

In  it  you  would  set  forth — 

(1)  The  size  of  advertisements  to  be  used. 

(2)  The  names  of  the  publications  to  be  used. 

(3)  An  analysis  of  their  combined  circulation  by 
states  and  districts. 

(4)  The  dates  of  the  proposed  insertions. 

Very  likely  you  would  in  addition  publish  this 
advance  information  in  the  leading  trade  papers. 
Here  you  would  call  the  attention  of  the  dealer  to 
the  superiority  of  your  goods  (offering,  perhaps, 
to  send  a  sample),  reminding  him  of  the  demand 
similar  advertising  has  previously  produced  at 
his  counters  and  urging  upon  him  the  desirability 
of  stocking  up  in  advance  to  meet  the  demand 
your  advertising  will  create.  Again,  however,  in 
your  trade-paper  advertising,  it  is  essential  that 

117 


you  convince  the  merchant  that  you  will  perform 
what  you  promise. 

This  work  of  course  would  be  followed  up  by 
your  salesmen.  For  years  the  salesmen  of  the 
Simmons  Hardware  Company,  for  example,  have 
carried  with  them  a  complete  set  of  forthcoming 
Simmons  advertisements,  in  addition  to  their 
regular  5,000-page  catalogue. 


Window  display  prepared  by  manufacturer 


If  you  sell  through  jobbers  rather  than  to  the 
retailer  direct,  this  advance  notice  is  just  as  essen- 
tial. But  here,  of  course,  you  would  refer  the  re- 
tailer to  his  usual  jobber  for  your  goods  and  seek 
the  jobbers'  cooperation. 

Some  firms,  like  Hills  Brothers,  packers  of 
Dromedary  Dates,  send  out  "specialty  men/' 
whose  primary  duty  it  is  to  interest  dealers  in  the 
advertising  which  the  firm  is  doing.  These  men 
take  orders  if  offered  them,  but  the  orders  are 
filled  through  the  dealer's  jobber. 

This  advance  campaign  will  by  no  means 
reach  all  the  dealers  whom  you  will  later,  if  your 
advertising  is  properly  conducted,  have  upon 
your  books.  You  will  find  many,  and  almost  in- 
variably the  most  progressive,  ready  to  respond 
to  conscientious  and  convincing  effort.  It  need 
not  discourage  you,  however,  to  encounter  other 
merchants  who  will  say  frankly  to  you,  "After 
your  advertising  has  begun  to  appear,  and  the  de- 
mand actually  exists,  I  shall  be  glad  to  carry  your 
goods  and  work  with  you.  Until  then  I  should  pre- 
fer to  wait."  This  is  simply  an  evidence  that  the 
dealer  who  says  it  has  been  deceived  in  the  past 
by  some  unscrupulous  manufacturer.  Happily, 
through  the  efforts  of  publishers  and  agents,  and 
through  the  growing  prevalence  of  fair  play 
among  advertisers,  there  are  every  year  fewer  and 
fewer  such  merchants.  In  most  cases  these  more 

119 


conservative,  once  they  become  convinced  that 
an  advertiser  is  actually  prosecuting  a  vigorous 
and  consistent  campaign,  will  be  among  his  most 
earnest  allies. 

When  your  advertisements  begin  to  appear  the 
first  tangible  results  will  be  direct  replies  from 
consumers,  particularly  if  provision  is  made  for 
such  replies  by  means  of  a  coupon  or  a  suggestion 
that  the  reader  write.  Very  often  the  advertising 
will  say  "Send  name  of  your  dealer,"  or  "If  your 
dealer  hasn't  the  goods,  send  us  his  name." 

To  clinch  the  interest  which  prompted  the  in- 
quiry advertisers  have  certain  "follow  up"  mat- 
ter to  send  in  reply.  For  example— 

(1 )  A  booklet  describing  and  illustrating  the  goods . 

(2)  An  actual  sample  of  the  goods  when  possible. 
(These  are  sent  free  or  offered  at  a  nominal 
price  to  pay  transportation  charges  and  head 
off  the  idly  curious.) 

In  addition,  all  the  more  enterprising  adver- 
tisers use  "form"  letters  to — 

(1)  Acknowledge  receipt  of  the  inquiry  (possibly 
giving  notice  of  the  sending  of  sample)  and 
giving  name  of  dealer  in  that  town  handling 
the  goods. 

(2)  Give  to  the  dealer  handling  the  goods  the  name 
of  the  person  making  the  inquiry. 

120 


The  inquiries  from  consumers  are,  of  course, 
valuable  as  an  excuse  for  urging  upon  the  dealer 
—if  he  doesn't  already  carry  them — the  desira- 
bility of  stocking  these  goods.  When  the  size  of 
the  sale,  if  made,  would  warrant  it — pianos, 
bonds,  automobiles,  for  example — a  salesman  is 
sent  by  the  nearest  retail  representative  to  follow 
up  the  inquiry. 

By  these  means  you  would  secure— 

(1)  A  definite  and  persistent  demand  for  your 
goods  on  the  retailer  by  consumers. 

(2)  The  increased  interest  of  your  present  re- 
tailers. 

(3)  The  addition  of  new  dealers  to  your  list. 

Some  advertisers,  however,  make  mistakes  by 
not  exercising  judgment  as  to  the  probable  char- 
acter and  purchasing  ability  of  inquirers  whose 
names  are  sent  to  dealers.  Advertising  naturally 
sometimes  brings  inquiries  from  children  or  from 
people  who,  when  their  names  are  examined  by 
the  dealer,  are  found  to  be  lacking  in  credit  or  real 
interest  in  the  goods.  Such  an  episode  is  likely  to 
destroy  much  of  the  good  impression  which  may 
have  been  created  in  the  dealer's  mind.  The  ob- 
vious remedies  are  the  use  of  publications  with  a 
circulation  of  high  quality  and  the  careful  criti- 
cism of  the  probable  class  of  each  inquiry  before 
forwarding  it  to  the  dealer. 
122 


A  method  frequently  used  to  convince  the 
dealer  of  the  advisability  of  stocking  a  line  is  that 
of  inserting  in  the  advertisement  a  coupon  ex- 
changeable at  dealer's  stores  for  a  free  sample. 
The  dealer  is  allowed  to  redeem  such  coupons 
with  the  manufacturer  either  in  cash  or  stock. 

A  campaign  well  under  way,  where  the  goods 
are  of  proved  quality,  may  obtain  telling  support 
from  the  well-disposed  dealer  in  local  advertising. 

Attractive  sales-compelling  window  displays  of 
your  goods  make  money  and  new  customers  for 
your  retailer.  The  benefits  he  derives  therefrom 
naturally  work  back  to  you.  So,  if  your  goods  per- 
mit, it  might  be  advisable  to  offer  dummies  of 
them  to  your  dealers  for  such  displays.  Litho- 
graphs, attractive  cards,  enlargements  of  your  ad- 
vertised trade-mark,  etc.,  could  be  furnished  at 
moderate  expense. 

A  prize  window  display  contest,  simultaneous 
with  your  advertising,  is  one  of  the  best  ways  to 
stimulate  your  dealers  to  show  your  goods.  Set  a 
day  or  week  for  such  a  display,  and  offer  substan- 
tial prizes  for  the  best  windows.  Offer,  for  in- 
stance, to  pay  fifty  cents  or  one  dollar  apiece  for 
all  photographs  of  window  displays  of  your  goods, 
and  award  in  addition  a  number  of  prizes  for  the 
most  meritorious.  The  merchant  himself,  proud 
of  a  fine  window,  will  desire  it  to  stand  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  and  what  he  displays  in  his  win- 
124 


dows  he  naturally  finds  to  his  advantage  to  push. 
Some  advertisers  devote  a  great  deal  of  time  to 
designing  window  displays  for  retailers  who  lack 
either  the  ability  or  the  inclination  to  do  it  them- 
selves. To  many  a  storekeeper  the  task  of  think- 
ing up  ways  of  changing  his  window  weekly  or 
monthly  is  herculean,  and  he  welcomes  a  clearly 
indicated  design,  or  even  more,  a  complete  dis- 
play ready  to  set  up,  sent  by  a  manufacturer  with 
whom  he  is  on  good  terms.  Manufacturers  who 
have  many  dealers  in  the  large  cities  sometimes 
maintain  regular  corps  of  skilled  window  trim- 
mers in  each  of  these  cities. 

The  national  advertiser  may  also  derive  great 
assistance  from  the  local  newspaper  advertise- 
ments inserted  by  dealers.  The  progressive  dealer 
everywhere  finds  it  good  policy  to  turn  to  his  own 
advantage  the  interest  aroused  among  his  cus- 
tomers by  national  magazine  advertising.  News- 
paper advertisements  of  nationally  advertised 
goods,  over  his  own  name,  focus  attention  on  his 
store  and  secure  for  himself,  so  far  as  his  town  is 
concerned,  the  benefit  of  the  national  campaign. 
A  valuable  plan  is  to  have  the  dealers  insert  in 
their  local  papers  small  advertisements  some- 
thing like  this:  "See  our  full-page  advertisement 
in  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal ;  then  come  in  and 
see  the  goods  themselves."  Many  dealers,  if  fur- 
nished with  copy  and  cuts,  are  willing  to  run  these 
126 


at  their  own  expense.  Others  are  open  to  a  propo- 
sition to  share  the  expense,  inserting  additional 
copy  of  their  own  in  the  space  bought.  Tact,  per- 
suasive measures  and  a  liberal  policy  will  succeed 
here  as  elsewhere. 

Some  manufacturers  by  popularizing  their  goods 
and  ably  handling  their  dealers  have  obtained, 
free  of  cost,  local  advertising  aggregating  three  or 
four  times  the  amount  of  their  national  expend- 
itures. In  some  cases  advertisers  offer  prizes  of 
various  sums  for  the  best  local  advertisement  run 
simultaneously  with  the  national  advertising.  The 
first  prize  in  a  typical  contest  of  this  kind  was 
awarded  to  a  full  page  in  a  metropolitan  daily; 
the  second  to  a  half  page  in  the  daily  of  a  small, 
live  city.  Additional  space  placed  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country  amounted  to  three  thousand 
newspaper  columns. 

With  some  kinds  of  goods,  additional  personal 
pressure  may  be  brought  to  bear  by  informing 
the  advertising  managers  of  the  local  papers  of 
your  readiness  to  supply  advertising  material, 
and  seeking  their  aid  in  inducing  the  retailer  to 
use  it. 

A  certain  collar  company  secured  an  enormous 
amount  of  information  as  to  its  distribution  by 
notifying  each  of  3,000  newspapers  that  local  ad- 
vertising would  be  placed  with  it  if  enough 
dealers  in  that  town  carried  the  collars  to  make 

128 


|IJif! 
^:  *jg;tf 


Illill 


life 


i  ~* 

Pill 

Ma       ^;t 


it  worth  while.  The  newspapers  put  their  own  ad- 
vertising solicitors  on  the  job.  The  advertising  was 
placed  strictly  according  to  these  reports.  The  plan 
was  successful  because  it  came  as  the  complement 
to  a  strong  national  campaign. 

Dealers  will  often  gladly  pay  for  space  in  street 
cars,  if  the  necessary  cards  are  supplied  by  the 
manufacturer  with  the  local  man's  name  printed 
on  them. 

The  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  has  introduced  a  plan  which  should  be 
of  much  value  to  national  advertisers,  of  listing  in 
the  back  of  telephone  books  the  names  of  local 
merchants  who  sell  nationally-advertised  com- 
modities. 

Many  other  "dealer  helps"  have  been  success- 
fully used.  Most  advertisers  supply  booklets  on 
which  the  local  merchant's  name  can  be  im- 
printed. A  well-known  hardware  company  sends 
out  men  to  assist  dealers  in  placing  their  account- 
ing systems  on  a  basis  where  they  can  keep  close 
watch  of  their  business,  an  exceedingly  valuable 
good-will  builder.*  The  "demonstration"  made 
by  a  traveling  representative  of  the  manufacturer 
is  often  a  feature  in  a  small  store,  and  sometimes 
in  a  large  one.  Many  advertisers  have,  in  addition 

*  This  has  the  additional  advantage  of  making  it  possible  to  prove 
to  the  merchant  that  the  advertised  goods  are  moving  fast,  even  if  the 
unadvertised  goods  are  not. 

130 


to  their  salesmen,  men  who  spend  their  time  call- 
ing on  retailers  and  suggesting  ways  of  increasing 
sales.  Frequently  an  advertiser  will  take  large 
space  in  national  magazines  and  print  in  it  the 
names  of  dealers  in  each  city  or  town  in  the  coun- 
try handling  his  goods.  This  is  also  done  by  news- 
paper advertising  in  large  cities. 

An  important  result  of  the  advertising  in  pub- 
lications of  enormous  circulation  like  The  Ladies' 
Home  Journal  and  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  is 
influence  upon  the  retailers  and  their  clerks  di- 
rectly. Out  of  1,750,000  or  2,000,000  copies  dis- 
tributed monthly  or  weekly  many  thousands  go 
into  the  hands  of  storekeepers  and  their  employ- 
ees. Inquiry  in  a  great  many  different  parts  of  the 
country  has  shown  that  these  men — as  they  natu- 
rally would — give  particular  attention  to  the  ad- 
vertising of  the  lines  which  they  sell  and  of  other 
lines  related  to  them.  "I  find  new  selling  argu- 
ments," they  say,  or  "It  keeps  me  up  with  what 
I  ought  to  have  in  stock,"  or  "I  find  out  what 
manufacturers  whose  goods  I  don't  carry  have 
to  offer."  So  important  is  this  influence  that  some 
advertisers  insert  in  their  "copy"  a  special  para- 
graph or  two  headed  "To  the  Trade,"  in  which 
they  have  a  little  "dealer  talk." 

Some  manufacturers  go  further  and  use  large 
space  to  talk  straight  from  the  shoulder  to  dealers 
through  national  mediums. 

131 


The  dealer  who  at  first  shows  little  or  no  interest 
in  your  proposition,  will,  through  your  persistent 
efforts,  in  all  likelihood  grow  to  see  its  advantages 
himself,  and  become  enthusiastic,  amply  repaying 
you  for  any  trouble  and  expense  incurred  in  con- 
verting him.  Once  he  is  converted  you  are  fairly 
sure  of  adequate  representation  of  your  line,  and 
he  is  enabled  to  profit  by  your  persistence. 

The  campaign  should,  in  every  case,  be  mod- 
eled to  meet  the  requirements  and  conditions  of 
your  own  individual  business.  Once  begun,  it 
should  be  pushed  through  to  the  end,  tirelessly, 
constantly  and  according  to  the  broadest  and 
most  effective  plan  possible — in  which  whole- 
hearted consideration  for  the  interests  of  the  re- 
tailer should  have  prominent  place. 


VIII 

Advertising  and  the  Jobber 

BUT  I  sell  to  the  jobber,"  we  hear.  "I  can't 
advertise."  Except  in  the  hundredth  case 
this  is  not  true.  It  is  not  only  easy  but 
profitable  to  advertise  while  continuing  the  dis- 
tribution of  goods  through  the  old  channels. 

There  has  been  too  much  ill-considered  talk  of 
"doing  away  with  the  jobber."  The  phrase  has  so 
plausible,  so  mouth-filling  a  sound  and  has  been 
so  jauntily  bandied  about  that  there  is  small 
wonder  that  many  wholesalers  have  the  impres- 
sion that  advertising  is  inimical  to  their  prosper- 
ity and  even  to  their  very  existence. 

Small  wonder  also  that  some  manufacturers 
have  hesitated  to  advertise  because  their  distri- 
bution is  through  the  jobber. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  80  per  cent,  or  more  of 
large  national  advertisers  sell  to  the  retail  trade 
through  jobbers.  It  is  the  normal  distribution  of 
the  times. 

The  wholesaler  renders  as  true  a  service  as  the 
raiser  of  crops  or  the  weaver  of  cloth.  He  does 
necessary  work  and  does  it  generally  in  the  cheap- 
est way.  He  is  a  helpful  and  necessary  part  of  the 
machinery  of  business. 

133 


Only  two  things  can  ever  eliminate  the  whole- 
saler: (a)  a  natural  evolution  of  business;  (6)  the 
wholesaler  himself. 

For  a  correct  understanding  of  the  situation 
one  should  know  what  a  jobber  is  not.  There  are 
several  great  merchandizing  houses  in  this  coun- 
try generally  known  as  jobbers  who  are  not  really 
jobbers  at  all.  They  are  really  underwriting  manu- 
facturers ;  they  control  in  whole  or  in  part  the  out- 
put of  several  mills.  They  brand  the  goods  thus 
controlled  with  their  own  name  or  trade-mark. 
Manifestly  in  such  a  case  the  so-called  jobber  is 
the  manufacturer,  and  the  mills  are  only  his  paid 
employees.  Other  large  "jobbers"  are  in  reality 
national  retailers,  controlling  their  own  stores  in 
many  cities. 

The  true  jobber  is  a  distributor,  a  middleman— 
not  an  arbiter  of  trade.  The  jobber  simply  passes 
on  to  the  retailer  what  the  people  want. 

If  you  make  the  jobber  your  distributor  you 
do  not  in  any  way  eliminate  him.  If  you  brand 
your  goods  and  advertise  them,  thereby  increas- 
ing their  consumption,  you  do  not  eliminate  the 
jobber — you  use  him,  you  increase  his  sales,  mak- 
ing the  work  of  his  salesmen  easier  and  therefore 
more  profitable. 

With  most  goods  of  wide  and  general  consump- 
tion salesmanship  with  personal  representation  of 
some  kind — either  from  the  jobber  or  the  manu- 
134 


11% 

MILLINERY 
«/   $98,150,000 


66% 

DRY  GOODS 
099,875,000 


17% 

NOTIONS 
$156,090,000 


TOTAL-  $910,5OO,OOO 


JOBBING  of  TEXTILES  in 

UNITED  STATES-<%zrt >Jrom  report  an. 
"Textiles"^  Ourtis  Commercio/ Research  Diuision 


facturer — seems  necessary.  No  manufacturer  of 
low-cost  articles  can  afford  to  have  salesmen  of 
his  line  alone  calling  on  the  148,000  general  stores 
in  this  country.  A  salesman  to  be  profitable  must 
represent  enough  lines  to  make  the  aggregate 
purchase  worth  following,  shipping  and  account- 
ing. It  is  also  desirable  that  there  be  a  consolida- 
tion of  credits,  rather  than  a  multitude  of  small 
accounts  each  carried  by  a  number  of  different 
manufacturers.  The  jobber  can  and  will  occupy 
this  necessary  position. 

The  manufacturer  who  wants  to  do  away  with 
the  wholesaler  has  a  man's  job  in  front  of  him. 
Suppose,  for  example,  he  decides  to  cut  off  his 
jobbers  in  the  Middle  West.  The  first  thing  that 
he  can  count  on  is  a  loss  of  anywhere  from  10  to 
50  per  cent,  of  the  trade — no  very  alluring  pros- 
pect. Next,  he  must  take  upon  himself  the  ex- 
pense of  a  big  selling  force,  of  a  vastly  compli- 
cated shipping  problem,  of  new  storage  warehouse 
facilities,  of  greatly  increased  bookkeeping  and 
credit  departments,  and  he  must  accept  in  the 
place  of  three  or  four  large  ledger  accounts,  which 
are  as  good  as  gold,  several  thousand  petty  ac- 
counts in  which  the  risk  of  loss  is  problematical. 
Furthermore,  he  must  induce  the  retailers  to  ac- 
cept all  the  troublesome  complications  which 
come  from  buying  from  many  concerns  instead 
of  from  one.  Retailers  order  in  small  lots,  and  the 
136 


cost  of  direct  sales  is  largely  increased  by  the 
freight  charges  on  such  small  shipments. 

Few  manufacturers  are  willing,  with  their  eyes 
open,  to  assume  such  an  increase  of  the  expense 
and  trouble  of  doing  business,  and  practically 
none  would  willingly  displace  a  jobber  who  is  do- 
ing fairly  adequate  justice  to  the  probable  de- 
mand from  his  territory. 

The  manufacturer,  therefore,  who  is  desirous  of 
advertising  need  not  fear  that  his  present  trade 
relations  will  hamper  him. 

Although  the  "elimination  of  the  jobber"  is  by 
no  means  impending,  the  day  of  his  dictation  is 
over.  Not  many  years  ago  the  manufacturer  had 
to  make  "what  the  trade  wanted."  He  had  no 
hold  on  his  consumers,  and  the  jobbers  bought 
where  they  pleased.  The  jobber's  drummer  often 
carried  the  trade  of  a  certain  territory  in  his 
pocket. 

Today  the  manufacturer  makes  what  the  pub- 
lic wants  because  he  is  in  a  position  to  find  out 
what  the  public  wants.  He  puts  his  name  on  his 
goods,  and  puts  his  advertising  in  the  magazines. 
The  consumers  want  those  goods,  and  go  to  the 
retailer  for  them.  The  retailer  feels  the  pull  of  the 
increased  demand,  and  goes  to  his  jobber,  order- 
ing the  goods  by  name.  The  jobber  goes  to  the 
manufacturer  of  those  particular  goods,  and  or- 
ders them  by  name. 

137 


The  jobber  does  not  dictate.  The  manufacturer 
does  not  dictate.  The  consumers  dictate.  And 
their  dictation  is  founded  on  no  false  basis,  but 
solely  on  their  familiarity  with  the  merits  of  a 
particular  article,  made  known  to  them  by  the 
advertising  of  the  manufacturer  and  proved 
worthy  by  experience.  This  dictation  by  the  con- 
sumer, though  resulting  directly  from  the  adver- 
tising of  the  manufacturer  and  of  the  retailer, 
need  in  no  way  disturb  the  relations  of  either 
with  the  jobber. 

It  is  obvious  that  in  certain  lines  of  trade,  and 
in  relation  to  certain  large  manufacturers,  the 
wholesaler  is  holding  a  less  and  less  important 
place.  This  partial  elimination  of  the  wholesaler, 
however,  has  been  due  to  causes  quite  apart  from 
advertising — usually  to  a  lack  of  appreciation  of 
real  conditions  or  to  personal  misunderstandings. 

Of  course,  in  the  last  analysis,  the  existence  of 
the  jobber  depends,  as  it  does  with  all  others, 
upon  his  proving  himself  worthy  of  his  hire.  In 
business  no  men  or  methods  can  survive  in  a 
struggle  with  other  men  and  other  methods  that 
do  the  work  more  cheaply  and  efficiently. 

The  enormous  increase  in  the  importance  of 
advertising,  as  a  sales-making  method,  promises 
to  wholesalers,  who  will  take  a  rational  view  of 
the  new  developments,  an  opportunity  for  greatly 
increasing  their  prosperity. 

138 


m  L-mfi 


much  discussed  advertisement.  Successful  through  suggestion 
and  skilful  treatment 


As  long  as  a  territory  is  sparsely  settled  its  busi- 
ness does  not  justify  manufacturers  in  sending 
out  their  own  salesmen.  The  trade  is  handled  by 
wholesalers.  As  soon  as  the  territory  becomes 
populous  and  prosperous  the  manufacturer  nat- 
urally begins  to  consider  whether  or  not  it  is  more 
to  his  advantage  to  deal  direct  with  the  retailer 
than  through  the  medium  of  a  jobber.  This  sort  of 
situation  is  continually  recurring,  and  the  manu- 
facturer's decision  is  made  in  terms  of  cheapness 
and  efficiency  of  service,  whether  he  advertises  or 
not.  In  a  situation  like  this,  if  the  wholesaler  can- 
not prove  himself  worthy  of  his  hire,  he  loses  his 
customers. 

On  the  other  hand,  wholesalers  sometimes 
eliminate  themselves  by  refusing  to  work  in  har- 
mony with  the  manufacturer's  settled  business 
policies.  Usually  the  split  is  avoidable,  and  is 
often  a  loss  to  both  parties.  Neither  shows  a 
reasonable  willingness  to  accept  the  other's  view- 
point. Perhaps  a  letter  is  written,  which  the 
writer  intended  to  be  a  bluff,  but  worded  a  trifle 
too  strongly.  It  is  accepted  at  face  value  and  an- 
swered as  such.  Then  personal  pride  steps  in  and 
a  mutually  advantageous  trade  relation  is  need- 
lessly severed. 

These  conflicts,  it  should  be  noted,  have  been 
quite  as  often  with  non-advertisers  as  with  adver- 
tisers. 

140 


ATTITUDE  of  MERCHANTS 
394  MERCHANTS 


ATTITUDE  ^JOBBERS 
56  JOBBERS 


27% 
UNFAVORABLE 

(103) 


67% 

FAVORABLE 
(267) 


54% 

FAVORABLE 
(30) 


OBJECTIONS  *f  JOBBERS 
18  JOBBERS 


OBJECTIONS  ^MERCHANTS 
103  MERCHANTS 


22% 
OTHER 
OBJECTIONS 
(4) 


45% 
PROFITS 

(6) 


33% 

BRAND 

16) 


ATTITUDE  ^MERCHANTS  and  JOBBERS 
toward  NationallyAdvertisedGoods,as  learned  through 
interviews  by  the  Curtis  Commercial  Research  Division 


Occasionally  there  may  be  a  real  divergence  of 
the  interests  of  the  manufacturer  and  the  whole- 
saler. But  the  "elimination  of  the  jobber  "is  as  far 
away  as  the  millennium  if  he  will  recognize  the 
modern  business  trend  toward  advertising  and 
put  himself  in  line  with  it  and  profit  by  it. 

A  telling  illustration  of  the  benefit  to  both  job- 
ber and  manufacturer  of  selling  advertised  goods 
appeared  in  the  first  chapter.  It  was  shown  how 
judicious  treatment  of  a  complex  situation,  by  the 
sale  of  the  same  goods  under  both  mill  brand  and 
private  brand,  resulted  in  a  gradual  call  from  the 
jobbers  for  more  and  more  of  the  trade-marked 
line,  while  the  total  sales  increased  30  per  cent. 

A  jewelry  concern,  that  sells  through  jobbers, 
began  advertising  its  product  and  stamping  its 
name  inconspicuously  on  it.  The  jobbers'  names 
were  also  stamped  on.  This  made  it  possible  for 
the  consumer,  who  asked  for  the  manufacturer's 
article  because  of  the  advertising,  to  identify  it; 
and  yet  the  retailer  was  constantly  reminded  of 
the  jobber  because  the  jobber's  name  was  on  each 
separate  piece. 

The  makers  of  Kellogg' s  Toasted  Corn  Flakes, 
as  a  result  of  a  recent  investigation,  say  that  of 
6,093  grocers  in  Chicago  carrying  some  kind  of 
corn  flakes,  5,827 — or  95  per  cent. — have  Kel- 
logg's.  The  leading  private  brand  was  found  in 
only  132  stores — less  than  three  per  cent. 
142 


The  principle  involved  in  these  accomplish- 
ments is  the  same  throughout — the  jobbers  find 
it  profitable  to  sell  goods  with  the  maker's  name 
on  them  if  the  maker  helps  to  make  sales  easier 
for  the  jobber  by  advertising  his  product,  and 
always  provided,  of  course,  that  the  manufac- 
turer allows  a  fair  margin  of  profit. 

It  is  obviously  natural  for  the  jobber,  if  he  is 
given  his  choice  between  buying  the  manufac- 
turer's named  article,  his  privately  named  article 
or  an  article  with  both  his  and  the  manufacturer's 
name  on  it,  to  continue  to  sell  under  his  pri- 
vate brand.  But  when  he  begins  to  feel  strong 
pressure  from  his  retailers  for  the  manufacturer's 
name  on  the  goods,  if  a  reasonable  margin  is  al- 
lowed him,  he  will  in  the  majority  of  cases  be  wise 
enough  to  see  that  his  own  advantage  lies  in  that 
direction. 

The  opportunity  presented  to  the  jobber  is  to 
perfect  his  own  science.  He  is  a  distributor  pure 
and  simple.  His  may  be  the  impregnable  monop- 
oly of  specialized  experience.  It  is  up  to  him  to 
study  the  question  "  What  does  the  public  want?  " 
to  make  his  distribution  thorough  and  swift, 
and  to  cooperate  with  the  manufacturer  in  every 
business  relation.  His  salesmen  can  sell  more  with 
less  expense  to  him  when  he  is  handling  adver- 
tised goods.  Reorders  by  mail  will  run  larger,  and 
his  risk  in  pushing  them  will  be  greatly  lessened. 

143 


The  opportunity  which  advertising  presents  to 
the  manufacturer  who  deals  through  jobbers  is  to 
insure  his  trade.  So  long  as  he  makes  unmarked 
or  unadvertised  goods  he  is  of  the  old  type  and 
at  the  mercy  of  old  methods.  A  few  jobbers  "own 
his  trade,"  and  shift  it  about  at  will.  When  the 
manufacturer  advertises  he  takes  out  trade  in- 
surance and  lays  the  foundation  of  more  profits 
and  better  business  relations  for  both  his  jobber 
and  himself. 

The  modern  manufacturer  must  assume  the 
responsibility  for  selling  his  goods  all  the  way 
through.  He  must  not  expect  any  great  amount  of 
salesmanship  to  be  exercised  on  the  consumer, 
unless  he  does  it  himself.  It  is  his  duty,  and  his 
privilege — not  the  jobber's. 


IX 

The  Itesults  of  Advertising 

IT  pays  to  advertise."  General  acceptance  of 
the  fact  has  made  slang  of  the  phrase.  Every 
man  is  thoroughly  convinced  that  advertising 
pays — other  people.  He  is  not  always  quite  sure, 
however,  that  it  will  pay  in  his  own  case. 

Advertising  is  to  many  of  us  like  dieting — we 
are  certain  it  is  just  the  thing  for  Jones — advise 
him  to  try  it — but  we  hesitate  to  take  it  up  our- 
selves. We  don't  know  whether  it  is  going  to  take 
weight  off  or  put  it  on;  and  we  are  a  little  doubt- 
ful about  our  moral  ability  to  continue  the  treat- 
ment. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,the  reason  for  our  hesitancy 
is  usually  failure  to  investigate.  We  haven't  gone 
to  the  trouble  of  studying  the  probable  effect  upon 
us  in  particular. 

The  main  question  to  be  answered  before  ad- 
vertising is,  of  course,  "  What  increase  in  revenue 
may  I  expect  ultimately  to  attain?" 

Earlier  chapters  of  this  volume  have  discussed 
the  fundamental  basis  and  methods  of  advertis- 
ing. We  have  seen  that  it  has  become  an  accepted 
force  in  distribution,  and  that  the  nationally  cir- 
culated periodical  is  the  recognized  foundation  of 

145 


most  great  national  campaigns.  We  have  seen 
that  the  prospective  advertiser  must  carefully 
select  an  advertising  agent. 

The  goods  must  be  honest,  and  the  price  right. 
The  probable  market  and  the  best  way  of  reach- 
ing it  must  be  studied.  Choice  must  be  made  be- 
tween the  mail-order  and  the  general-publicity 
campaign.  If  the  latter,  a  suitable  trade-mark 
must  be  obtained. 

The  distribution  problem  must  be  well  han- 
dled. The  rights  of  the  retailer  must  be  recog- 
nized, and  proper  means  provided  for  enlisting 
his  cooperation  and  aiding  him  and  his  clerks  in 
selling  the  goods.  If  the  jobber  is  concerned,  his 
part  in  the  campaign  must  be  laid  out,  and  steps 
taken  to  gain  the  fullest  advantage  of  his  distri- 
bution service. 

The  campaign  is  launched.  In  what  directions 
may  we  look  for  the  increased  revenue  which  is  to 
result?  There  are  only  two  channels: 

(1)  More  gross  business  with  more  gross  profits. 

(2)  Greater  percentage  of  profit,  due  to  decreased 
costs  of  making  and  selling. 

Not  in  one  case  out  of  a  thousand  can  these 
results  be  completely  traceable.  They  come  in  so 
many  different  ways,  and  entangled  with  so  many 
other  factors,  that  the  only  right  way  to  judge 
the  final  and  entire  effectiveness  of  the  advertis- 
146 


sary  as  sausage  makers. 

For2S  years  we  have  loved, 
honored  and  cherished  ihc 
ideals  with  which  we  started 
out  in  business  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago. 

We  have  tried  to  make  the 
best  old-fashioned  country 
sausage  m  the  world,  because 

Idn't 

ferior  kinds  any-  mere  than 
we  would  want  to  eat  them 


MII.O  C  JONES.  Jon«  Dairy  Farm.  Bo>  605,  Fort 


Getting  heart-throbs  into  the  sausage  business 


ing  is  by  the  increase  in  the  business  over  a  con- 
siderable period  of  time. 
The  usual  effects  are  six : 

(1)  The  winning  of  some  of  your  competitors9 
business. 

(2)  Increased  consumption  in  the  existing  market. 

(3)  The  development  of  markets  (for  a  new  prod- 
uci),  or  of  demand  for  a  better  quality  (of  an 
old  product). 

(4)  Insurance  of  future  hold  on  markets. 

(5)  Stimulation    of  your   manufacturing    and 
selling  organization. 

(6)  Resultant  economies  and  increased  profits. 

The  first  effect  is  the  most  obvious  and  the  one 
usually  considered.  It  is  often  the  least  impor- 
tant. Some  laymen  believe  that  advertising  serves 
only  to  take  business  away  from  one  man  and 
give  it  to  another,  and  that  therefore  it  is  of  no 
real  service  to  the  public  as  a  whole.  Of  course,  it 
does  that  to  some  extent.  The  dealers  now  carry- 
ing and  the  people  now  using  your  goods,  or 
goods  like  them,  will  buy  more  from  you,  and  this 
increase  will  be  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  taken 
away  from  your  competitors. 

But  the  stimulation  of  consumption  is  a  more 
significant  effect  of  advertising.  Here  advertising 
works  wonders,  and  while  building  a  demand  for 
your  goods  may  not  lessen  in  any  degree  the  de- 

148 


mand  for  your  competitors'.  Often  it  will  aid  the 
entire  trade.  It  is  in  this  and  other  directions,  de- 
scribed in  the  present  chapter,  that  advertising 
proves  of  true  value  to  the  whole  public. 

You  may,  for  example,  educate  old  customers 
to  new  uses  for  your  goods,  so  that  they  will  use 
more  of  them.  This  has  been  done  with  striking 
success  by  manufacturers  of  food  products  and 
toilet  articles,  particularly  Ivory  Soap.  Welch's 
Grape  Juice  advertising  contains  recipes  for  new 
drinks. 

You  may  revive  a  latent  demand.  The  Iver 
Johnson  advertising  is  bringing  back  old  users  of 
bicycles  by  expatiating  on  the  advantage  of  living 
in  the  country  and  the  possibility  of  riding  back 
and  forth  to  work.  Dromedary  Dates  are  simply 
the  cherished  fruit  of  childhood  served  up  to  us 
in  attractive  packages  instead  of  a  sticky  mass. 

You  may,  by  your  advertising,  instil  new  energy 
into  the  dealers,  causing  them  to  sell  your  goods 
more  frequently  through  all  forms  of  local  adver- 
tising. 

An  interesting  and  familiar  occurrence  is  the  ex- 
tension of  the  use  of  some  particular  product, 
through  the  concentration  of  the  advertising  of 
several  rival  manufacturers  of  the  product,  in  the 
same  publication.  All  share  the  advantage  of  the 
increased  public  attention  thus  attracted.  The 
breakfast  food  industry  never  became  great  until 

149 


several  manufacturers  became  large  national  ad- 
vertisers. 

In  the  case  of  staple  products  many  people 
assume  that  increase  in  consumption  is  nearly 
constant,  so  that  if  "A"  advertises  his  ginghams 
successfully  his  greatly  strengthened  sales  mean 
proportionately  weaker  sales  for  his  competitors 
"B,""C"and"D." 

This,  as  pointed  out  above,  is  in  part  true- 
but  only  in  part,  because  one  of  the  major  tasks 
which  advertising  is  set  to  accomplish  is  to  dis- 
cover new  uses  for  old  lines  and  to  foster  a  de- 
mand to  fill  new  wants. 

A  striking  illustration  of  this  occurred  in  the 
capital  of  a  western  state  a  few  years  ago.  Fifty- 
one  per  cent,  of  the  stock  in  the  local  gas  and 
electric  company  had  come  into  the  control  of  a 
national  organization. 

Their  first  act  was  to  advertise,  and  advertise 
heavily.  To  the  local  stockholders,  who  repre- 
sented the  forty-nine  per  cent.,  this  seemed  ruin- 
ous folly.  "For,"  they  reasoned,  "have  we  not  a 
complete  monopoly?  We  control  exclusive  fran- 
chises on  both  electricity  and  gas.  Why  in  the 
world  should  we  advertise  when  we  have  'em 
coming  and  going." 

You  will  agree  that  their  contention  had  ele- 
ments of  reason.  And  yet  this  advertising,  the  first 
season,  sold  seven  carloads  of  gas  stoves.  It  sold 
150 


For  that  sleep  jinx 


FX)R  that  tiling  that  tries 
chloroform  you  in   the  nion 
—for  that  other   fellow   tha 
pulls  the  covers  up  around   you 
neck— claims  five  minutes   won' 
matter,  then  double-crosses  you  and 
lets  you  sleep  twenty": 

ing)  a  velvet-like  shaving,  a  Sun- 
day-like breakfast— for  a  good  hard 
day's  work  that  will  put  feathers 
in  any  old  bed  —  for  a  little 
spare  time  around  the  evenings 


good  clocks  in  one,  A 
good  alarm  to  wake  up 
rattling  <>ood  timepiece  to 
all  d;tv  by. 


tall,  two 
rattling 
with,  a 

tell  time 


Educative  advertising  that  sold  hundreds  of  thousands  of  alarm 

clocks 


coke  at  a  better  price.  It  sold  gas  heaters,  irons, 
fixtures  and  novelties.  It  put  in  one  hundred  and 
twenty -four  new  electric  motors  for  small  power 
users.  It  induced  a  greatly  increased  lighting  of 
stores.  It  put  up  electric  signs  and  ornamental 
lighting  effects.  All  of  which  meant  increased  use 
of  electric  current.  Advertising  did  all  this  by 
educating  people  to  use  a  staple  commodity  for 
new  purposes  and  more  freely. 

So  much  for  old  and  staple  products.  Advertis- 
ing also  places  brand-new  products  on  the  market 
swiftly  and  permanently  at  minimum  cost.  This 
is  what  it  has  done  for  most  of  the  recent  inven- 
tions of  e very-day  utility — the  safety  razor,  the 
vacuum  cleaner,  the  washing  machine,  the  elec- 
tric fan,  the  bread  mixer.  The  classic  example  is, 
of  course,  the  automobile.  Thin  underwear,  tooth 
paste,  shaving  sticks,  modern  garters  have  been 
put  into  our  daily  life  by  this  kind  of  advertising. 
The  International  Correspondence  Schools  devel- 
oped by  advertising  an  entirely  new  type  of  edu- 
cation which  has  enrolled  more  than  1,500,000 
pupils.  Hart,  Schaffner  &  Marx  pride  themselves 
on  the  fact  that  since  they  began  to  advertise  men 
have  ceased  to  be  ashamed  of  wearing  ready-made 
clothing. 

Advertising  would  fully  justify  its  existence  if 
it  did  only  these  two  things — increase  the  demand 
in  present  markets,  and  develop  new  markets;  in 
152 


other  words,  serve  as  an  educational  force  in  mer- 
chandizing. 

But  it  does  far  more.  It  anticipates  the  demand 
of  future  markets.  It  is  business  insurance. 

This  is  simply  another  way  of  saying  that  it 
creates  good-will.  Good-will  wouldn't  be  as  im- 
portant as  it  is  if  it  simply  meant  that  people 
think  so  well  of  your  goods  that  they  will  buy 
them  today.  Its  value  consists  in  the  lasting  im- 
pression that  it  creates.  Good-will  means  that 
five  years  hence,  when  I  want  a  piano,  I'll  very 
likely  buy  a  Steinway  or  a  Chickering.  Advertis- 
ing is  not  only  cultivating  the  harvests  of  today. 
It  is  fertilizing  the  field  of  future  needs.  Advertis- 
ing is  daily  and  hourly  building  an  increment  of 
value  about  your  name.  It  is  making  your  trade- 
mark worth  while.  It  is  paying  for  insurance  on 
your  business  against  the  competition  of  years 
hence.  Though  very  real,  this  is  an  effect  which 
cannot  be  measured  except  in  terms  of  long  time. 

Almost  as  indefinite,  but  also  real,  is  the  stimu- 
lus of  advertising  on  your  organization.  It  does  in- 
side work  as  well  as  outside  work.  It  has  an  en- 
thusing, uniting  effect  on  all  the  members  of  the 
organization,  from  the  head  of  the  firm  to  the 
office  boy. 

On  the  manufacturing  end  it  instils  a  pride  of 
manufacture.  Every  engineer  would  like  to  drive 
the  Twentieth  Century  Limited  between  New 

153 


York  and  Chicago.  Every  intelligent  operative, 
every  foreman,  every  mill  superintendent  likes  to 
have  a  share  in  turning  out  a  nationally  and  fa- 
vorably known  product — the  best  of  its  kind.  It  is 
human  nature.  As  the  output  grows  and  the  plant 
enlarges,  as  the  goods  are  attractively  displayed 
in  many  stores,  and  the  name  of  the  firm  or  the , 
brand  blazoned  everywhere,  a  pride  in  the  goods 
spreads  throughout  the  mill.  The  quality  im- 
proves, the  processes  become  more  sure,  the  in- 
spection more  thorough.  The  men  in  charge 
search  more  diligently  for  ways  of  improvement, 
the  men  below  them  respond  more  readily. 

The  same  inspiration  is  imparted  to  the  admin- 
istrative force.  A  truer  efficiency  follows.  A  well- 
known  manufacturer  says  that  within  a  few  days 
of  the  appearance  of  his  first  large  advertisement 
six  out  of  the  seven  best  men  of  his  principal 
competitor  applied  to  him  for  employment.  They 
wanted  to  be  with  a  live  concern. 

In  the  sales  force  this  is  even  more  noticeable. 
Salesmen  who  were  once  loudest  in  their  condem- 
nation of  advertising  become  its  strongest  sup- 
porters. They  find  that  the  insistent  demand 
caused  by  advertising  simplifies  their  work.  Their 
entree  is  easier  and  their  orders  larger,  while  their 
time  is  saved.  They  go  forth  with  a  new  interest 
in  their  work  and  a  new  confidence  in  their  goods 
and  organization. 

154 


INSPIRATION 


confidence 

n  the  Ivorydale  factories  has  in  the  prorfucl  he  help. 
o  make  that  is  the  Daw.  ol  the  superiority  of  Ivory  SCMJ>. 


it  ;,  the  oenainty  that  rhe  nap  which  be  help  to  pm- 
duce  is  the  purest  and  most  economical.  the  soap  thai 
u  doing  the  greatest  good  in  the  work).  »hich  enabl« 
him  to  look  beyond  'he  drudgery  »'  "K  moment  and 
see  hi*  labor  gtoriBed 

And  „  his  thousands  of  fellow-workers  shan  <.«  «ra» 
inspiration,  it  is  but  natural  that  Ivory  Soap  should  be 
tbc  embodiment  of  the  Spirit  of  Cleanliness. 


Expresses  the  spirit  which  is  instilled  in  the  workmen 
who  make  a  nationally  known  commodity 


A  typical  experience  is  cited  in  "Modern  Ad- 
vertising": "A  house  which  made  Babbitt  metal, 
hitherto  always  sold  by  traveling  men,  was  in- 
duced to  try  a  'mail  series.'  To  make  the  test 
thorough,  a  State  in  which  the  house  had  had  no 
previous  trade  was  selected.  To  a  list  of  prospec- 
tive customers  they  sent  printed  matter,  one  cir- 
cular a  week  for  thirteen  weeks.  Then  they  sent  a 
bright  young  man  to  travel  over  this  territory. 
The  results  were  phenomenal.  Order  after  order 
was  sent  in,  and  finally  a  request  was  made  for  a 
year's  contract  at  an  advanced  salary.  The  sales- 
man/got it.  When  he  arrived  at  the  home  office  he 
was  the  hero  of  the  hour.  He  sat  by  the  side  of 
'the  old  man's'  desk  and  explained  how  he  did  it. 
When  the  man  who  had  put  up  the  money  for  the 
'mail  series'  ventured  to  suggest  that  the  circu- 
lars might  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  re- 
sults, the  drummer  airily  '  turned  down '  the  sug- 
gestion. He  had  sold  the  goods  himself.  The  'mail 
series'  had  not  been  heard  from. 

14  The  company,  realizing  that  they  had  a  treas- 
ure, gave  the  young  man  virgin  territory  in 
another  State/  Never  a  drummer  and  never  a 
single  piece  of  printed  matter  had  previously 
gone  to  that  State.  The  young  man  started  out 
with  flying  colors.  He  'fell  down'  at  the  first  stop. 
After  trying  six  or  seven  towns,  without  getting 
even  an  audience  with  his  customers,  to  say  noth- 
156 


ing  of  an  order,  he  was  called  home.  The  entire 
success  of  the  drummer  in  the  first  instance  had 
been  based  on  a  careful  cultivation  of  the  terri- 
tory by  the  right  sort  of  printed  matter." 

That  was  a  strictly  local  case,  where  mail  ad- 
vertising was  advisable.  This  type  of  experience, 
multiplied  many  times  and  in  many  states,  has 
been  the  result  of  many  a  national  advertising 
campaign,  where  the  extent  of  territory  to  be 
reached  has  made  the  use  of  publications  even 
more  profitable  than  the  more  expensive  mail 
publicity. 

Advertising  means  dealing  with  larger  quan- 
tities and  larger  problems.  It  changes  the  sales- 
man from  a  plodder  to  an  executive.  It  enables 
him  to  sell  his  ability  and  experience  on  a  con- 
stantly rising  market.  The  highest  priced  sales- 
men in  demand  today  are  those  who  can  make 
the  most  of  the  opportunities  created  by  adver- 
tising. 

This  esprit  de  corps  combines  with  the  large 
production  which  the  demand  created  by  the  ad- 
vertising makes  necessary,  to  bring  about  the 
fifth  and  very  important  effect — namely,  econo- 
mies. Economies  in  both  manufacture  and  selling 
result  naturally  from  the  enthusiastic  and  scien- 
tific handling  of  goods  in  large  units.  This  is 
axiomatic.  Generally  speaking,  the  cost  of  adver- 
tising disappears  in  the  economies  it  effects. 

158 


Take,  for  example,  a  factory  making  some 
product  of  general  usefulness.  The  factory  has  an 
overhead  expense  of  $10,000.  Before  advertising 
it  turns  out  10,000  pieces  of  goods.  In  the  price 
of  each  one  of  these  must  be  included  its  share  of 
overhead  expense,  or  $1.00.  Suppose  that  by  ad- 
vertising the  demand  is  doubled,  and  the  same 
factory  produces  20,000  articles.  The  overhead 
expense  chargeable  to  each  then  becomes  only 
fifty  cents. 

Buying  twice  as  much  raw  material  the  manu- 
facturer is  undoubtedly  able  to  get  it  at  lower 
prices.  Employing  considerably  more  men  he  is 
able  to  increase  the  division  of  labor  and  to 
specialize  more  thoroughly  in  each  department, 
getting  greater  efficiency.  Probably  what  was  for- 
merly waste  has  so  grown  in  quantity  that  it  is 
worth  while  to  turn  it  into  valuable  by-products. 
All  along  the  line  there  are  notable  savings,  so 
that  by  the  time  the  article  reaches  the  shipping- 
room  it  has  cost  considerably  less  than  before— 
and  is  better  made. 

Then  comes  the  selling.  The  advertising  has 
developed  a  demand.  Inquiries  reach  the  factory, 
and  are  forwarded  to  jobber  or  retailer.  The  sales- 
man goes  on  his  trip  and  finds  that  where  he 
formerly  sold  $4,000  worth  of  goods  and  turned 
in  a  $100  expense  bill  he  now  can  sell  $8,000 — and 
his  expense  bill  is  but  little  larger. 

159 


Everywhere  a  saving — overhead  expense,  raw 
materials,  labor,  by-products,  selling.  Taken  all 
together  the  savings  amount  to  as  much  as,  and 
often  more  than  the  cost  of  the  advertising,  to  say 
nothing  of  greater  volume. 

The  Welch  Grape  Juice  Company,  although 
paying  300  per  cent,  more  for  grapes  than  in  1898, 
is  today  selling  the  product  to  the  trade  at  no 
higher  price. 

The  manufacturer  of  Nemo  Corsets  testified  at 
a  hearing  in  Washington,  as  follows:  "Ten  or 
twelve  years  ago  our  salesman  came  to  Washing- 
ton several  times  a  year.  He  had  one  customer 
here,  and  did  well  if  he  got  an  order  for  $300  or 
$400.  Our  cost  for  that  sale  was  approximately  15 
per  cent.  Today  we  have  a  customer  in  practically 
every  large  store  here,  and  our  salesman  leaves 
the  city  with  orders  for  $5,000  or  more.  Our  cost 
for  selling  these  goods  is  perhaps  3  per  cent.  Add 
to  this  say  4J/2  per  cent,  for  advertising,  and  the 
total  cost  is  just  one-half  the  selling  cost  ten 
years  ago." 

No  manufacturer,  however,  should  begin  any 
extensive  campaign  with  the  idea  that  he  is  going 
to  get  his  money  back  immediately.  The  cost  of 
advertising  will  not  usually  be  absorbed  the  first 
year.  It  may  be.  Even  then  its  full  effect  is  by  no 
means  over  at  the  end  of  twelve  months  or  so. 
The  man  who,  having  begun  to  advertise,  stops 

160 


after  an  insufficient  trial  of  a  year  or  two  years 
stands  to  lose.  If  he  doesn't  lose  some  of  what  his 
advertising  has  cost  he  certainly  loses  much  of 
the  good  impression  which  he  has  created.  It  is  like 
investing  a  thousand  dollars  in  a  government 
bond,  clipping  a  few  of  the  coupons,  then  throw- 
ing the  bond  away.  The  cumulative  effect  of  ad- 
vertising is  so  important  that  continuity  is  im- 
perative. Its  effectiveness  is  largely  dependent 
upon  concentration,  consistency  and  continuity. 

The  best  proof  that  the  long  sustained  cam- 
paign pays  is  the  experience  of  the  advertisers 
whose  names  are  familiar  to  us.  Ivory  Soap  has 
no  monopoly  of  the  soap  business.  But  it  has  a 
monopoly  of  Ivory  Soap.  Royal  Baking  Powder 
has  no  monopoly  of  the  baking-powder  business. 
But  it  has  a  monopoly  of  Royal  Baking  Powder. 
Both  these  "monopolies,"  like  those  of  many 
another,  are  the  result  of  continuous  publicity 
backed  by  quality. 

See  how  this  works  out.  A  young  girl  sees  in  the 
magazines  on  her  mother's  library  table  the  ad- 
vertisements of  Gold  Medal  Flour.  She  has  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  buying  of  family  supplies.  Very 
likely  she  doesn't  know  what  flour  her  mother 
buys.  She  doesn't  even  realize  that  she  notices 
the  advertising.  But  Gold  Medal  Flour  is  gently 
impressed  upon  her  by  printed  advertising.  The 
day  comes  when  she  marries,  and  soon  after  she 

161 


gives  her  first  order  for  groceries.  She  has  to  make 
a  choice  of  flour,  and  automatically  the  name 
Gold  Medal  recommends  itself  to  her  as  that  of  a 
good  flour — one  she  has  always  known  about.  It 
has  taken  ten  years  of  advertising  to  sell  her  that 
first  bag  of  flour.  If  the  flour  is  satisfactory  she  is 
likely  to  be  a  good  customer  for  a  generation  to 
come.  If  Gold  Medal  Flour  had  advertised  years 
before,  and  then  stopped,  her  mother  might  have 
bought  it,  but  when  the  daughter's  time  came  she 
would  probably  buy  something  else.  There  are 
nearly  1,000,000  marriages  every  year  in  the 
United  States — nearly  1,000,000  new  homes  cre- 
ated, 1,000,000  new  purchasers.  And  even  regular 
users  need  to  be  reminded,  for  the  public  memory 
is  notoriously  short. 

It  is  the  long,  solid  campaign  that  gets  the 
maximum  results,  and  leaves  the  least  chance  for 
a  competitor  to  steal  away  the  trade  that  has 
tyefen  developed. 

Advertising  thus  conducted  is  an  investment, 
not  an  expense.  Whether  money  paid  out  for  ad- 
vertising should  be  charged  on  the  books  to  cur- 
rent expenditure  or  to  an  investment  account 
depends  largely  upon  the  kind  of  advertising  you 
do.  A  well-known  public  accountant*  says:  "A 
person,  firm,  or  company,  at  the  outset  of  an 

*  Elijah  W.  Sells,  C.  P.  A.,  of  Haskins  and  Sells,  New  York,  in  an 
address  before  the  Associated  Advertising  Clubs  of  America. 

162 


undertaking  should  provide  sufficient  capital  not 
only  for  plant  and  working  materials,  but  for  ad- 
vertising. It  is  of  supreme  importance  that  the 
merits  of  that  which  is  to  be  disposed  of  should  be 
adequately  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  pub- 
lic. In  such  a  case,  the  amount  so  provided  and 
spent  might  with  all  propriety  be  considered  as 
an  investment  and  carried  as  such  in  the  balance 
sheet.  In  any  disposition  of  the  business  it  would 
have  a  good-will  value  depending  upon  the  re- 
turns of  the  business. 

"On  the  other  hand,  an  old  and  established 
business,  such,  for  instance,  as  a  mutual  assur- 
ance association,  would  not  be  justified  in,  or 
have  any  reason  for,  carrying  as  an  investment 
the  expenditures  which  it  might  make  for  adver- 
tising. As  such,  it  is  not  an  asset  which  could  be 
realized  and  distributed.  It  has  no  place  as  good- 
will value  to  the  association  whose  business  could 
not  be  sold.  It  is  not  a  thing  for  which  new  capital 
could  be  raised.  So  it  would  not  be  practical  to 
consider  it  as  an  investment. 

"Generally  speaking,  such  advertising  as  may 
be  done  for  the  purposes  of  bringing  some  new 
business  or  branch  of  business,  some  new  or  im- 
proved article  or  articles  to  the  attention  of  the 
public,  which  has  a  direct  effect  in  creating  or 
measurably  increasing  the  good-will  of  a  business 
undertaking,  may  be  considered  as  an  investment 

163 


in  that  there  has  been  an  appreciable  increase  in 
the  amount  of  capital  employed. 

"Such  advertising  as  may  be  done  to  maintain 
a  normal  distribution  or  to  keep  the  name  and 
nature  of  a  business  before  the  public  or  for  the 
purpose  of  calling  attention  to  special  temporary 
prices  of  articles,  while  having  some  effect  upon 
the  good-will  of  the  business,  should  not  require 
further  capital  and  should  be  provided  for  out  of 
its  current  operations;  in  other  words,  should  be 
considered  as  an  expense. 

"Given  the  purposes  and  conditions  of  the  ad- 
vertising and  the  general  policy  of  the  manage- 
ment of  an  undertaking  in  regard  to  such  expendi- 
tures, its  correct  classification  as  an  investment 
or  an  expense  is  not  difficult  to  determine." 

In  other  words,  upon  the  attitude  which  you 
adopt  toward  your  advertising  will  very  likely 
depend  the  attitude  of  your  bankers,  or  of  your 
accountants  in  entering  advertising  on  your 
books.  Advertising  rightly  done  builds  good-will. 
Good-will  may  become  a  very  real  asset,  which 
can  be  bought  and  sold  in  the  open  market.  Ad- 
vertising directed  toward  the  securing  of  perma- 
nent good-will  is  an  investment,  and  not  an  ex- 
pense. 

The  manufacturer  who  enters  the  field  of  ad- 
vertising with  his  eyes  closed  to  one  or  more  of 
the  possibilities  is  likely  to  receive  a  rude  shock. 

164 


Four-fifths  addressed  to  the  dealer,  one-fifth  to  the  consumer 


It  may  be  one  kind;  it  may  be  another.  He  may 
find  himself  caught  with  a  poor  distribution  in  the 
face  of  a  tremendous  demand.  He  may  not  be 
able  to  hold  up  the  quality  or  to  turn  out  the  ne- 
cessary volume.  He  may  overstock  his  dealers. 
He  may  have  wrongly  proportioned  his  expendi- 
tures and  not  be  able  to  keep  his  campaign  going 
until  he  reaches  the  crest  of  success. 

The  way  to  guard  against  error  is  to  deal  with 
a  reputable  agent  and  with  conscientious  pub- 
lishers, to  investigate  thoroughly  with  their  aid 
every  phase  of  the  situation  before  advertising, 
and  to  be  continually  on  the  job  during  the  prog- 
ress of  the  advertising. 


X 

"Reasons"  for  Not  Advertising 

IF  you  are  not  now  advertising  you  believe,  of 
course,  that  you  have  a  very  good  reason.  Did 
you  ever  scrutinize  it  to  see  whether  it  is  a  real 
reason? 

It  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  find  "rea- 
sons" for  not  advertising  and  thereby  deny  to 
yourself  the  profits  which  others  have  secured  by 
the  very  methods  you  reject. 

In  almost  every  unadvertised  business  there 
exists  at  present  some  condition  which  makes  ad- 
vertising inadvisable.  The  question  is  whether  it  is 
worth  while  to  change  that  condition.  Many  a  manu- 
facturer is  a  non-advertiser  simply  because  of 
failure  to  investigate  properly.  Usually  he  has  a 
privately  formed  objection  which  would  not  stand 
the  test  of  analysis,  but  which  is  potent  enough  to 
hold  him  back  from  rich  rewards. 

The  answer  is — always  investigate. 

Here,  for  instance,  are  a  few  of  the  standard 
"reasons"  for  not  advertising: 

"Don't  dare  disturb  trade  relations.9' 

"  Narrow  margin  of  profit." 

"Our  goods  are  staple,  just  like  our  competitors." 

"Cant  fill  our  orders  now." 

167 


Take  them  one  by  one.  Every  objection  is  one 
that  some  live  manufacturer — after  proper  study 
of  the  situation — has  met  and  overcome.  Adver- 
tising is  too  big,  too  powerful,  too  natural  to  be 
thwarted  by  minor  difficulties. 

"I  don't  dare  disturb  my  trade  relations." 
There  are  two  replies.  One  is,  you  don't  have  to. 
The  other  is,  are  you  sure  your  trade  relations 
won't  disturb  you?  In  the  chapter  on  " Adver- 
tising and  the  Jobber"  this  has  been  more  fully 
discussed.  Instances  were  given  of  ways  in  which 
manufacturers  have  met  trade  conditions. 

Advertising  need  not  supplant  your  present 
trade  relations.  It  strengthens  and  broadens  them 
along  the  very  lines  that  you  have  found  good.  It 
burns  no  bridges.  It  builds  larger  bridges.  There 
is  no  relation,  no  condition,  no  asset  in  your  busi- 
ness that  you  value,  no  source  of  strength  pecul- 
iar to  yourself  that  advertising,  rightly  done,  wrill 
not  help  you  apply  to  larger  ends. 

And  how  about  the  solidity  of  those  trade  re- 
lations? A  certain  manufacturer  said:  "I  cant 
advertise.  My  trade  relations  are  well-nigh  per- 
fect. My  goods  have  been  in  use  over  fifty  years. 
The  trade  knows  them  and  swears  by  them.  That 
is  my  most  valuable  asset.  Would  it  be  sane  for 
me  to  tamper  with  it?" 

Not  long  afterwards  a  competitor  shaded  this 
man's  prices  an  eighth  of  a  cent  per  foot.  Jobbers 
168 


expressed  their  good-will  in  every  way  except  one 
—they  didn't  love  him  that  extra  eighth  of  a  cent. 
He  had  to  cut  his  prices  accordingly.  It  hurt.  He 
began  to  wonder  how  much  this  invaluable  good- 
will of  his  was  worth  in  real  money  if  he  couldn't 
cash  it  in  at  an  eighth  of  a  cent  per  foot. 

Somewhat  later  another  competitor  began  to 
worry  him.  This  chap  was  a  newcomer.  He  wasn't 
known  three  years  before.  The  jobbers  reiterated 
the  assurances  of  their  consideration — but  the 
new  man  got  more  and  more  of  their  orders. 

'That  man  can't  undersell  me  and  live,"  said 
the  manufacturer,  and  looked  him  up.  He  found 
he  wasn't  underselling.  He  was  getting  some  five- 
eighths  of  a  cent  more  per  foot.  Moreover,  he 
didn't  even  own  his  own  factory.  A  small  mill  was 
making  his  goods  for  him. 

"We  can't  help  it,"  said  the  jobbers.  "That 
man,  as  you  know,  has  been  advertising  his  goods 
for  two  or  three  years,  and  he  has  made  a  call  for 
them  that  the  retailer  has  got  to  meet.  A  half  cent 
one  way  or  the  other  doesn't  seem  to  make  any  dif- 
ference." 

The  manufacturer  went  back  to  his  office  and 
wondered  again  where  that  perfect  asset  of  his 
came  in.  Do  not  expect  your  trade  relations  to 
continue  unaffected  in  these  days  of  swift  change. 

"My  margin  of  profit  is  small.  I  can't  afford  to 
advertise." 

169 


There  is  a  story  of  an  Irish  woman  who  sold 
apples  for  one  cent,  and  told  the  purchaser  she 
paid  a  cent  and  a  quarter  apiece  for  them.  "But 
how  can  you  afford  to  do  that?"  "Oh,"  said  she 
craftily,  "because  I  sell  so  many." 

She  had  the  idea,  but  she  didn't  apply  it  cor- 
rectly. The  salvation  of  the  manufacturer  whose 
margin  of  profit  is  small  is  to  get  a  tremendous 
volume  of  sales.  That  is  just  what  advertising 
aims  to  produce.  And  its  cost  disappears  in  the 
economies  which  it  effects  and  in  the  increased 
aggregate  profits.  This  was  discussed  more  fully 
in  the  previous  chapter. 

Of  course,  if  you  sold  soap  at  five  cents,  and  it 
cost  you  a  $1.00  worth  of  advertising  to  sell  me 
the  first  cake,  you  couldn't  afford  to  advertise— 
if  I  never  bought  any  more.  But  you  don't  adver- 
tise to  sell  just  cakes  of  soap.  You  advertise  for 
customers — to  put  your  goods  into  families  who 
will  continue  to  use  them  for  the  rest  of  their  lives, 
and  hand  down  their  use  to  another  generation. 
Advertising  does  not  concern  itself  with  single 
sales.  Its  purpose  is  to  find  and  to  direct  into 
definite  channels  the  great  currents  of  demand.* 

*  A  certain  advertiser  could  not  see  the  wisdom  of  giving  a  25-cent 
booklet  to  those  who  answered  his  advertising  of  a  50-cent  article,  which 
he  sold  to  the  jobber  for  less  than  25  cents.  He  had  always  regarded 
his  business  as  one  of  selling  single  packages.  But  that  booklet  resulted 
in  selling  a  dozen  or  two  dozen  packages  at  a  time,  where  he  had  sold 
only  one  before. 

170 


Advertising  a  staple 


Another  objection—  •"  My  goods  are  staple- 
not  essentially  different  from  the  same  thing  made 
by  a  dozen  manufacturers."  There  are  no  con- 
ditions under  which  advertising  is  more  urgent  or 
offers  a  larger  opportunity. 

Your  goods  are  staple;  which  means  that 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  ninety  million  con- 
sumers in  the  United  States  are  going  into  the 
retail  stores  of  the  country  every  day  asking  for 
your  kind  of  goods. 

They  are  an  unadvertised  staple,  which  means 
that  these  consumers  have  no  preference  for  your 
make  or  for  the  make  of  any  of  your  competitors. 
They  don't  know  of  these  different  makes.  Their 
minds,  so  far  as  any  choice  is  concerned,  are  in  a 
perfectly  even  balance.  It  will  take  a  very  slight 
thing  to  turn  the  scale. 

It  is  precisely  at  this  point  that  the  richest 
prizes  in  modern  advertising  have  been  won. 

You  do  not  need  to  convince  those  consumers 
that  your  goods  are  different,  or  better  than  all 
other  makes.  Get  into  their  minds  the  name  of 
your  goods  and  the  idea  that,  whatever  the  merits 
of  other  makes,  yours  are  right — and  you  have 
given  them  knowledge  of  one  make  for  which  they 
can  ask  among  a  dozen  others  of  which  they  know 
nothing. 

You  have  put  the  feather  in  the  scale  that  turns 

it  decisively  to  you. 

172 


"My  factory  can't  fill  its  orders  now.  Why 
should  I  advertise?" 

There  is  no  earthly  reason — if  your  future  is 
certain.  Is  it  certain? 

Suppose  the  growing  tendency  toward  consoli- 
dation should  enter  your  field,  and  your  market 
should  be  disputed  by  a  competitor  with  resources 
far  greater  than  your  own.  Are  your  goods  in  such 
demand  that  you  could  hold  your  trade  at  a  price 
preference?  Or  are  your  profits  so  large  that  you 
could  smile  at  a  price  war? 

Suppose  any  of  the  cogs  of  your  selling  ma- 
chinery— jobbers,  wholesalers,  retailers — should 
slip  and  fail  you.  Are  your  goods  so  superior  that 
if  they  should  cease  to  be  found  on  retail  shelves 
the  consumers  would  rise  up  and  insist  on  having 
them?  Suppose  the  price  of  raw  materials  should 
materially  change.  Suppose  bars  against  foreign 
goods  should  be  let  down.  Are  you  so  securely  en- 
trenched that  you  can  scorn  the  eternal  ghost  of 
tariff  revision? 

Suppose  a  period  of  trade  depression  should 
come.  Would  it  pass  you  by?  Suppose  one  or 
more  of  your  competitors,  through  aggressive 
advertising,  should  start  an  increasing  stream 
of  customers  into  stores  all  over  the  country  ask- 
ing for  their  goods.  Would  the  retailer's  and  the 
jobber's  attitude  toward  your  goods  remain  un- 
changed? Have  you  any  weapon  for  holding  off 

173 


disaster  while  adjusting  your  business  to  the 
changed  conditions? 

There  are  numerous  practical  illustrations  of 
large  advertisers  who  have  continued  to  adver- 
tise even  after  their  production  is  behind  the  de- 
mand. 

One  firm  in  January,  1913,  entered  upon  a 
$40,000  campaign  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  its  en- 
tire product  was  not  only  sold  for  the  next  twelve 
months  but  was  optioned  so  heavily  for  the  1914 
production  that  there  seemed  to  be  no  prospect 
of  being  able  to  fill  orders  for  the  two  years.  They 
argued  thus:  "It  will  cost  us  far  less  money  to 
keep  our  hold  on  the  situation  in  the  condition 
we  are  in  today  than  if  we  waited  until  compe- 
tition forces  us  to  do  it.  It  is  a  great  deal  cheaper, 
easier  and  surer  to  put  forced  draught  back  of  a 
proposition  when  it  is  on  the  rise,  than  when 
most  of  the  energy  is  being  consumed  in  a  strug- 
gle to  get  enough  business  to  keep  busy." 

An  illuminating  comment  upon  this  point  as 
well  as  upon  the  question  of  advertising  in  the 
face  of  financial  depression  is  found  in  the  follow- 
ing statement  by  the  advertising  manager  of  a 
very  large  concern :  "  During  the  financial  scare  of 
1907  I  sat  around  a  table  with  our  executive 
board  and  advertising  agents,  discussing  ways 
and  means  of  meeting  an  emergency  that  threat- 
ened the  serious  curtailment  in  the  sales  of  many 
174 


established  lines  of  merchandise.  Upon  the  sug- 
gestion of  one  of  these  men  $287,000  was  added 
to  the  regular  appropriation  for  advertising  with- 
out so  much  as  a  single  dissenting  voice.  And 
they  were  right,  as  was  proven  when  the  com- 
pany held  its  sales  through  these  panicky  times 
up  to  factory  capacity,  and  went  into  1908  facing 
a  demand  for  our  goods  that  necessitated  further 
factory  extensions. 

"In  the  face  of  a  demand  that  we  have  never 
been  able  to  cope  with  during  the  last  seven  years 
I  have  seen  $60,000  a  year  added  for  a  full-page 
advertisement  every  month  in  The  Ladies'  Home 
Journal. 

"When  it  was  suggested  that  double  pages  and 
back  covers  be  used  in  America's  greatest  publi- 
cation, The  Saturday  Evening  Post,  it  was  only 
necessary  to  lay  the  developed  plan  before  them 
to  receive  authority  to  buy  all  double-page  spreads 
we  could  obtain. 

"  When  we  asked  for  an  additional  appropria- 
tion of  $150,000  to  pay  for  all  we  could  secure, 
we  were  not  only  given  the  sum,  but  were  told  to 
keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  any  more  double  spreads 
that  could  be  secured. 

"  Mind  you,  all  these  big  appropriations  have 
been  made  in  the  face  of  an  enormous  demand 
for  our  goods,  that  grows  bigger  and  bigger  every 
day,  and  no  matter  how  rapidly  our  factory  ex- 

175 


tensions  are  completed  we  are  never  able  to  catch 
up  with  the  orders  always  ahead  of  us." 

There  are  other  standard  fallacies  about  adver- 
tising, such  as: 

"7  can't  brand  my  goods." 

"We  don't  sell  direct  to  our  trade." 

"Our  goods  are  seasonal." 

Nearly  every  manufacturer  thinks  his  own 
business  is  peculiar  and  has  some  highly  indi- 
vidual "reason"  for  not  advertising. 

The  thing  for  him  to  do  is  to  submit  his  prob- 
lem to  a  reputable  agent  or  publisher.  The  harder 
the  nut  the  happier  the  advertising  man  will  be 
in  trying  to  crack  it.  And  if  it  can't  be  done,  if 
there  is  actually  a  cogent,  valid  reason  against 
advertising — if  he  is  a  reputable  agent  or  a  repu- 
table publisher  he  will  tell  the  manufacturer  so. 
The  stakes  which  agents  and  publishers  hold  are 
too  high  to  be  risked  by  inducing  manufacturers 
to  advertise  on  insufficient  evidence. 

It  is  never  safe  to  advertise  without  first  inves- 
tigating. 

It  is  never  wise  to  decide  not  to  advertise  with- 
out first  investigating. 

Your  "reason"  may  be  only  an  excuse,  and 
you  the  real  loser. 


XI 

Getting  the  Facts  at  First  Hand 

TTT  has  been  stated  that  no  manufacturer  should 

advertise  without  first  investigating. 
JL  It  is  just  as  true  that  no  publication  should 
inaugurate  the  advertising  of  a  manufacturer 
without  first  investigating.  Before  advising  a  firm 
to  spend  its  money  the  publisher's  representatives 
or  the  agents  should  themselves  know  the  condi- 
tions in  the  industry,  the  markets,  and  what  re- 
sults any  given  publication  may  be  expected  to 
bring. 

The  days  of  advertising  gambling  have  gone  for- 
ever. While  the  degree  of  success  can  never  be  ac- 
curately forecasted,  still  advertising  has  so  far 
approached  an  exact  science  that  one  need  never — 
should  never — advocate  it  without  a  precise 
study  of  conditions.  This  is  more  keenly  realized 
perhaps  by  the  publications  themselves  than  by 
the  manufacturers.  Reputable  publishers  of  long 
standing,  who  have  stood  by  and  seen  campaigns 
fail  and  manufacturers  deterred  from  advertising 
by  the  example  of  these  failures,  know  how 
strongly  it  is  for  their  own  interest  to  accept  only 
advertising  which  is  reasonably  sure  to  succeed. 
Thus  future  increase  in  patronage  is  insured. 

177 


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Ordinarily,  publishers'  representatives,  when 
they  have  sought  to  establish  the  soundness  of  a 
proposed  campaign,  have  necessarily  started  by 
accepting  as  a  basis  of  procedure  the  manufac- 
turer's own  data  relative  to  the  industry  and  the 
selling  field.  They  then,  in  a  conscientious  man- 
ner, have  studied  whether  or  not  that  particular 
manufacturer  could  use  advertising  profitably  in 
that  field. 

This  has  been  the  accepted  method,  the  only 
variation  being  the  degree  of  actual  consideration 
for  the  probable  success  of  the  campaign  which 
the  publication  felt  itself  obligated  to  assume. 
And  yet  advertising  campaigns  have  failed.  And 
yet  thousands  of  potential  advertisers  have  re- 
mained passive,  asserting  the  impossibility  of  ad- 
vertising their  particular  wares.  In  both  instances 
the  reason  has  frequently  been  that  the  original 
hypothesis  was  wrong.  The  manufacturer  himself 
did  not  know  enough  about  actual  conditions  in  his 
own  business;  usually  not  enough  about  selling 
conditions. 

Advertising  structures  reared  according  to  the 
best  rules  of  modern  advertising  engineering 
have  toppled  through  no  fault  of  the  publication 
which  built  them,  because  the  foundation,  for 
which  the  manufacturer  assumed  responsibility, 
was  set  in  sand.  Imposing  advertising  structures 
for  which  correct  plans  have  been  drafted  have 

180 


frequently  failed  of  erection  because  the  manufac- 
turer never  had  it  proved  to  him  that  he  had  good 
rock  for  his  foundations. 

The  publisher  today  must  go  down  to  the 
ledge. 

The  Curtis  Publishing  Company  today  inves- 
tigates the  problems  of  its  advertising  clients  long 
before  it  knows  who  its  particular  clients  are  to  be. 

This  company  maintains  for  this  important 
task  a  Commercial  Research  Division.  The  duty 
of  this  division  is  to  search  out  the  exact  facts 
about  various  industries  and  trades,  manufactur- 
ing and  selling  conditions,  trade  tendencies  and 
future  possibilities.  The  purposes  of  the  company 
in  maintaining  this  division  are: 

(1)  To  enable  its  representatives  to  approach  a 
manufacturer  armed  with  the  fullest  infor- 
mation as  to  the  extent  of   his    national 
markets  and  the  avenues  by  which  he  may 
enter  them. 

(2)  To  equip  them  so  that  they  may  give  to  manu- 
facturers advice  and  ideas  in  merchandizing 
broader  than  those  which  any  one  manu- 
facturer could  obtain  without  a  costly  inves- 
tigation of  his  own,  or  perhaps  not  at  all. 

(3)  To  learn  for  its  own  use  what  advertising 
possibilities  each  industry  offers,  so  that  the 
whole  broad  field  of  merchandizing  may  be 

181 


approached  intelligently  and  with  a  view- 
point that  is  both  national  and  inclusive. 
(4)   To  render  on  occasion  specialized  service  to 
clients. 

The  work  of  this  department  is  not  merely 
statistical.  It  does  not  simply  pore  over  the 
records  of  the  United  States  Census  and  similar 
institutions,  taking-  figures  already  existing  and 
putting  them  together  for  the  purpose  of  deriving 
conclusions.  Neither  is  it  partisan;  it  does  not 
seek  colored  information.  The  men  in  it  are  not 
advertising  men;  they  are  experts  in  research. 
The  department  is  quite  as  much  interested  in 
discovering  what  cannot  be  advertised  as  what 
can;  in  discovering  what  conditions  exist  unfavor- 
able to  advertising  as  well  as  those  which  favor  it; 
in  making  it  possible  to  provide  against  the  future 
as  well  as  to  take  advantage  of  the  present. 

A  representative  of  this  department,  therefore, 
is  expected  to  probe  to  original  sources,  digging 
out  information  which  has  never  before  been  col- 
lected. A  very  large  proportion  of  the  work  con- 
sists in  interviewing  disinterested  persons  in  the 
field  and  in  obtaining  a  consensus  of  opinion  upon 
each  question  involved. 

The  reports  which  it  has  issued  are  unique.  It 
is  doubtful  if  they  could  be  duplicated  by  any 
other  private  business  institution  in  the  United 
182 


States.  Manufacturers  would  be  unable  to  obtain 
the  large  amount  of  information,  to  get  which  it 
is  necessary  to  have  the  confidence  of  retailers. 
Retailers  would  be  similarly  handicapped  in  deal- 
ing with  manufacturers.  The  prestige  of  The 
Curtis  Publishing  Company,  and  its  reputatirn 
for  impartiality,  make  it  possible  to  gain  entree 
to  the  hundreds  of  sources  which  are  being  drawn 
upon. 

A  fair  notion  of  what  it  means  to  cope  with  ad- 
vertising and  merchandizing  problems  in  these 
complex  days  may  be  obtained  by  an  examination 
of  the  scope  and  contents  of  one  of  these  reports. 

The  most  interesting  and  most  extensive  thus 
far  undertaken  is  a  complete  study  of  selling 
conditions  in  the  field  of  dry  goods  and  women's 
ready-to-wear  clothing. 

Manufacturers  of  textiles  have  one  of  the  most 
fruitful  opportunities  for  profit  by  advertising. 
The  three  great  necessities  of  life  are  food,  shelter 
and  clothing.  On  these  the  greater  part  of  our 
expenditures  is  concentrated.  Food  is  already 
widely  advertised,  and  sold  by  modern  merchan- 
dizing methods.  Shelter  is  very  largely  a  matter 
of  local  expenditure.  Clothing  might  seem,  to  one 
glancing  casually  through  the  pages  of  the  maga- 
zines today,  to  be  receiving  its  full  share  of  at- 
tention. As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  thorough 
analysis  will  show  that  the  great  manufacturers 

183 


of  clothing  textiles — those  who  would  correspond 
to  the  immense  flour,  sugar  and  cereal  firms  in 
the  food  lines — are  conspicuous  either  by  their 
absence  or  by  the  mediocrity  of  their  advertising. 
This  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
manufacture  of  textiles  itself  has  involved  such 
difficult  problems  that  the  best  brains  of  the  in- 
dustry have  been  given  to  the  production  rather 
than  to  the  selling. 

For  the  purpose  of  doing  its  part  in  awakening 
textile  manufacturers  to  the  possibilities  which 
advertising  holds  for  them  The  Curtis  Publish- 
ing Company  had,  for  a  number  of  years,  had  a 
Textile  Division.  The  men  in  this  division  ac- 
quired a  working  knowledge  of  the  manufacturing 
processes  of  the  industry  and  a  considerable  ac- 
quaintance— greater  than  that  of  manufacturers 
themselves — with  selling  conditions. 

Recognizing  that  rapid  changes  in  the  selling 
of  textiles  were  in  process  and  in  prospect,  and 
that  representatives  could  advise  manufactur- 
ers with  greater  force  if  the  sources  of  their  in- 
formation were  unquestioned,  it  was  determined 
to  make  a  nation-wide  study.  The  investigator 
who  was  selected  to  make  this  study  traveled 
32,000  miles,  visited  165  cities  and  held  over  one 
thousand  interviews,  the  majority  with  retail 
merchants.  This,  together  with  the  examination 
of  statistical  matter  and  the  compilation  of  the 
184 


report,  involved  a  year's  continuous  work,  the 
service  of  several  assistants  and  an  expense  of 
$15,000. 

The  report  consists  of  four  volumes,  2,800 
pages  in  all;  it  includes  114  charts  and  12  maps, 
most  of  which  are  unique  and  based  upon  infor- 
mation which  is  not  obtainable  elsewhere. 

This  study  necessarily  centered  about  depart- 
ment store  merchandising.  As  these  stores  are  the 
index  of  the  trade  of  each  community,  and  as 
their  problems  are  much  the  same  with  reference 
to  many  classes  of  manufactured  goods,  this  re- 
port has  become  of  prime  importance  not  only  to 
textile  manufacturers  but  to  many  manufac- 
turers. 

The  interest  and  scope  of  the  report  may  be 
judged  by  the  following  list  of  chapters : 

RETAIL 

I.  The  Development  of  the  Department  Store. 

II.  The  Volume  of  Department  Store  Business. 

III.  Per  Capita  Expenditures  in  Dry  Goods  and  Ladies' 
Ready -to- Wear. 

IV.  The  Influence  of  Section  on  General  Retail  Con- 
ditions. 

V.  The  Organization  of  the  Department  Store. 

VI.  Merchandizing  Methods  of  the  Department  Store. 

VII.  Costs,  Turn-overs  and  Profits  in  Retailing. 

VIII.  The  Future  of  the  Department  Store. 

IX.  The  Catalogue  House. 

186 


X.  Attitude  of  Retailers  toward  Nationally  Adver- 
tised Goods. 

XI.  Attitude  of  Retailers  toward  National  Advertis- 
ing Media. 

JOBBING 

XII.  The  Transformation  of  Jobbing. 

XIII.  Local,  Specialty  and  Catalogue  Jobbers. 

XIV.  Volume  and  Localization  of  Textile  Jobbing. 

XV.  Costs,  Turn-overs  and  Profits  in  Jobbing. 

XVI.  The  Attitude  of  Jobbers  toward  Nationally  Ad- 
vertised Goods. 

XVII.  Relations  between  Manufacturer,  Jobber  and  Re- 
tailer. 

APPENDICES 

I.  Encyclopedia  of  Cities. 

II.  Attitude  toward  Nationally  Advertised  Goods. 

III.  Attitude  toward  National  Advertising  Media. 

IV.  Attitude  toward  Buying  from  Jobbers. 

V.  Costs  and  Business  Management — Retail. 

VI.  Costs  and  Business  Management — Wholesale. 

VII.  Catalogue  Houses. 

VIII.  Rural  Stores. 

IX.  Authorities  for  Maps  and  Charts. 


This  matter  occupies  one  volume.  The  second 
volume  includes  discussion  of  the  various 
branches  of  textile  manufacture,  and  the  various 
departments  of  retail  stores,  considered  in  their 
relation  one  to  the  other.  This  divides  into  the 
following  topics : 

187 


I.  The  Primary  Market  and  its  Sales  Channels. 

II.  Drift  toward  Quality. 

III.  Blankets. 

IV.  Domestics. 

V.  Draperies  and  Upholsteries. 

VI.  Dress  Goods. 

VII.  Floor  Coverings. 

VIII.  Hosiery  and  Knit  Goods. 

IX.  Mattresses. 

X.  Men's  Furnishing  Goods. 

XI.  Women's  Purchases  of  Men's  Furnishings. 

XII.  The  Cutting-up  Trade. 

XIII.  Ladies'  Ready-to- Wear,  Retail. 

XIV.  Merchant  Tailors,  and  Men's  Ready-to-wear 

XV.  Advantage  in  Width  of  Cloth. 

XVI.  Per  Capita  Estimates  for  Leading  Textile  Depart- 
ments. 

XVII.  Interviews  on  Notions. 


The  third  volume  contains  swatches  of  cloth, 
representative  of  the  textiles  used  in  modern  re- 
tailing, each  accompanied  by  a  description  of  its 
uses,  colors,  prices,  characteristics,  wearing  quali- 
ties, and  so  forth. 

The  fourth  volume  consists  of  1,000  pages  of 
typewritten  reports  of  interviews — the  basic  ma- 
terial of  the  whole  work. 

The  usefulness  of  this  report  will  be  readily  ap- 
parent. It  is  confidential,  and  is  published  only  in 
typewritten  form  for  the  use  of  the  various  offices 
of  The  Curtis  Publishing  Company.  The  conclu- 

188 


The  relation  betiresn  gross  profits  and  mark-ups  is.fta  follows* 
Gross  profits  Mark  xrps 

£5£    ; 33  1/3$ 


The  diffsrer.ee  between  the  gross  profits  and  the  cost  of  doing 
business  ssakes  the  net  ,%yof  Its.     Since  selliiig  prices  are  unioJi  the  same 
to  large  cities  as  they  are  in  snaller  places  and  the  oost  of  doizig  busi- 
ness is  less  in  smaller  places  than  in  large  citiee,  the  per  cent  of  net 
profit  'Rill  "be  greater  in  the  scmller  cities.     2?eji  to  twelve  per  cent 
K«t  profit  on  gross  sales  is  said  to  be  character  istio  of  8.  good  busi- 
ness la  &  an&ll  city;  while  five  to  seven  per  oent  ia  character  is  tie  of 
s-ucceesful  B»rcb&ridisi»g  in  the  large  cities.     That  is,  the  net  profit  of 
the  large  city,   in  t?er  oex^ti   is  about  half  the  r.et  profit  of  the   SKi3.ll 
oity.     Bx*  since  tfce  txarisovers  in  a  large  city  are  Jouble  tihose  of  ft 
ssfi.ll  city,   th«  total  net  refrurn  on  the  oapifcal  invosted.  ia  isach  the  sass. 
?o  illustrates   in  a  SK&H  city  10^  o»  liLree  turnovers  equals  30^  oa  tho 
capital,  in  a  large  city  5$  on  six  turnovers  equals  30$  on  the  capital* 
A  T  YPICAL  3USHi'SS3 

She  following  is  said  to  be  characteristic  of  a  successful  b-asi- 
iiess  in  a  villages 

$10,000  .  .......  Capital 

40^  ««*«•**«  Iter  Cent  of  ^.rk-iap 

JlKfO'oO  ........  P.etail  Vtl^je  of  Stock 

.  5  ........  ITwiber  of  Turnovers 

§42,000   ........  ?ot»l  3-c  sine  *»  for  Year 

........  'lO|i  ........  Per  Sent  of  let  Profit 

$"4,260  .   .   ......  Set  Profit   fo®  side  a  S&lary  as 


Tne  above  is  typical  of  -.feat  SJSE.;;  Tse  doas   in  a  vill^je  store,  "but  on 
th«  average,  the  village  stcs-e  keeper  does  sot  sec-ire  acre  tJMW>  two  and 
OJie-half  txar.s  ^nfl  $2500  to  |SrOOO  net  profits  besides  salary  is  j^&rer 
the  aver^^e. 


A  characteristic  page  from  the  report  on  textiles  by  the 
Curtis  Commercial  Research  Division 


sions,  however,  are  available,  under  proper  con- 
ditions, for  clients,  and  it  is  regularly  used  in  the 
laying  out  of  advertising  and  selling  campaigns 
for  textile  manufacturers,  as  well  as  for  others 
who  sell  through  similar  channels.  Accompanied 
as  it  is  by  scores  of  graphic  illustrations  and  by 
pertinent  statistics,  it  stands  as  the  most  elabo- 
rate and  useful  treatise  existent  on  textile  selling 
conditions,  and,  as  has  already  been  said,  on  the 
selling  conditions  of  many  other  types  of  goods 
sold  in  department  stores. 

Less  extensive,  but  equally  typical  of  the  work 
of  this  department,  is  a  report  made  upon  the 
agricultural  implement  industry.  This  was  com- 
piled in  the  interests  of  manufacturers  who  might 
wish  to  advertise  in  The  Country  Gentleman. 

Nowadays,  practically  every  operation  on  the 
average  farm  can  be  performed  by  machinery, 
and  the  rapid  progress  of  invention  is  continually 
increasing  the  importance  of  the  implement  in- 
dustry. By  the  same  evolution  selling  conditions 
are  being  changed.  The  industry,  therefore, 
offered  a  particularly  interesting  and  profitable 
field  for  investigation.  Four  months  were  devoted 
to  the  preparation  of  this  report,  which  is  based 
upon  the  results  of  200  interviews,  and  upon 
much  research.  It  includes  a  study  of  the  consoli- 
dation and  concentration  of  the  manufacture  of 
farm  implements,  of  the  passing  of  the  jobber  in 

190 


this  field,  of  local  tendencies,  the  importance  of 
the  dealer,  and  of  export  trade. 

The  department  has  also  occasionally  made 
private  investigations  for  individual  manufac- 
turers who  have  desired  information  which  they 
were  not  equipped  to  obtain  for  themselves. 

Fortified  as  to  the  future  with  expert  service 
and  as  to  the  past  with  years  of  experience,  and 
imbued  with  a  sense  of  deep  responsibility  for 
the  success  of  the  advertisers  who  use  his  pub- 
lications, the  publisher  who  is  doing  such  work 
as  this  is  daily  mastering  more  firmly  the  funda- 
mental facts  and  the  tendencies  which  bear  upon 
advertising  as  the  solution  of  the  problems  of  his 
clients. 


A  new  note  in  mail-order  advertising 


XII 

The  Future  of  Advertising 


IT  would  be  interesting  and  easy,  but  entirely 
futile,  to  make  sweeping  predictions  about  the 
future  of  advertising. 

Men  hardly  have  the  temerity  to  speculate 
upon  the  future  of  the  law  of  gravity,  or  of  the 
fourth  dimension.  The  law  upon  which  advertis- 
ing rests  is,  no  less  than  these,  immutable,  and  its 
effect,  for  good  or  bad,  is  largely  dependent  upon 
the  degree  to  which  men  understand  it  and  the 
uses  to  which  they  turn  their  knowledge  of  it. 
The  future  of  advertising  is  inseparably  inter- 
woven with  the  whole  future  of  commerce  and  in- 
dustry. Any  prophecy  would  have  to  take  into 
account  the  probable  development  of  our  whole 
national  life.  But  there  are  many  tendencies,  al- 
ready observable,  which  seem  to  indicate  impor- 
tant progress,  and  which  are  likely  to  influence 
profoundly  the  business  of  the  next  few  decades. 

First  and  foremost,  the  ethical  standard,  which 
has  been  raised  so  notably  during  the  past  few 
years,  is  bound  to  go  higher  and  higher.  Probably 
no  business  or  profession  ever  did  so  much  in  so 
short  a  time  to  wipe  out  the  stigma  of  the  inex- 
pertness  and  charlatanism  which  characterized 

193 


its  early  history.  Today  the  honest  and  the  expert 
are  dominant.  Tomorrow  they  will  be  predomi- 
nant. And  it  is  a  fairly  sure  prediction  that  in  the 
not  distant  future  advertising  will  offer  far  less 
foothold  to  the  incompetent  and  the  faker  than 
even  law  or  medicine  or  other  far  more  strictly 
regulated  professions. 

It  must  be  so.  For  the  advertising  world  is 
strongly  interdependent.  In  some  degree  the 
success  of  every  advertising  medium  affects  the 
success  of  every  other,  because  the  success  of  all 
is  founded  upon  the  implicit  confidence  of  the 
public.  The  more  the  people  of  any  small  com- 
munity can  trust  the  advertising  in  their  local 
newspaper,  for  example,  the  more  will  they  trust 
advertising  in  the  national  publications  which 
they  read.  And  vice  versa. 

The  outlook  is  very  hopeful.  Most  easily  observ- 
able are  the  efforts  of  the  greatest  national  pub- 
lications. These  publications  are  selling  advertising 
space  for  what  it  is  worth,  or  less,  at  an  estab- 
lished rate  per  line,  which  is  never  cut,  never  de- 
viated from,  based  absolutely  on  a  certain  rate 
per  thousand  of  circulation.  They  are  excluding 
the  untrustworthy,  helping  the  trustworthy,  in- 
vestigating scientifically  the  merchandizing  con- 
ditions in  many  lines  of  industry,  conscientiously 
declining  to  accept  advertising  which  does  not 
seem  likely  to  succeed,  and  striving  in  every  way 
194 


to  multiply  the  success  of  that  which  they  do 
accept. 

Quite  as  significant,  though  less  obvious,  is  the 
activity  with  which  the  hordes  of  petty  advertis- 
ing schemes  are  being  lopped  off.  Business  men  in 
many  cities,  through  their  boards  of  trade,  are  in 
organized  revolt  against  fake  directories,  worth- 
less special  editions,  "programs"  issued  by  mis- 
guided social  organizations,  and  the  "  advertising" 
whose  only  purpose  is  to  sugar-coat  the  pill  of 
blackmail,  or  to  disgorge  a  contribution  for  some 
doubtful "  charity."  Experience  with  some  of  these 
misuses  has  soured  a  great  many  sensible  men  on 
advertising  in  toto. 

Between  the  two  extremes  of  big  advertising 
and  little  advertising  lies  a  wide  range,  through 
all  of  which  is  clearly  evident  a  wholesome  spirit 
of  unrest. 

Newspapers  are  rebelling  against  the  free  read- 
ing-notice, bill-posting  associations  are  pointing 
to  a  higher  standard  of  art,  printers  are  study- 
ing to  make  booklets  and  circular  matter  more 
effective,  advertising  men  are  forming  vigilance 
associations  to  prosecute  frauds,  legislatures  are 
passing  restrictive  laws.  All  of  these  movements 
mean  progress,  and  rapid  progress,  toward  the 
end  that  advertising  shall  be  employed  only  when 
it  ought  to  be  employed  and  only  in  the  strongest 
and  most  effective  manner. 

195 


This  will  mean  the  saving  of  millions  of  dollars 
now  spent  for  so-called  "advertising." 

But  there  seems  no  likelihood  that  the  aggregate 
of  advertising  expenditures  will  ever  be  less.  It 
will  be  much  more.  For  a  proper  increase  of  adver- 
tising through  legitimate  channels  will  be  the  re- 
sult of  the  reduction  of  this  waste  in  improper 
directions.  In  local  newspaper  advertising,  in 
honest  trade-paper  publicity,  and  in  correct  na- 
tional advertising,  with  their  attendant  follow- 
up,  we  may  expect  to  see  the  totals  mount  and 
mount  as  present  advertisers  gain  more  strength 
and  as  new  advertisers  enter  the  field. 

The  new  advertisers,  unquestionably,  will  rep- 
resent many  important  commodities  which  are 
not  today  extensively  advertised. 

There  are  great  groups  of  staples  and  necessi- 
ties the  distribution  of  which  is  in  the  hands  of 
conservative,  old-line  firms  who  have  not  yet  dis- 
cerned that  advertising  is  their  most  economical 
means  of  creating  and  holding  demand  from  the 
consumer.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  enor- 
mous classification  of  textiles,  discussed  in  the 
previous  chapter. 

Some  commodities  are,  as  a  whole,  awaiting  the 
development  of  speedier  and  cheaper  transporta- 
tion, or  the  working  out  of  other  economical  meth- 
ods of  national  distribution,  before  they  can  be 
heavily  advertised  in  national  periodicals.  Perish- 
196 


u  For  the  Public  Service" 

Where  Do  the 
Earnings  of  the  Railroad  Go? 

ggjp.-:«I      This  big  slice  of  every  dollar  earned  by  the  New 
''^*'^|      ^OTk  ('entral  Lines  goes  to  support  the  families 
v^v  **J      of  138,565  men  directly  employed  in  operating 
the  system. 


This  piece,  almost  as  large,  goes  to  pay  the  hills 
for  supplies,  most  of  which  in  turn  goes  for 
labor,  and  represents  the  support  of  the  families 
of  perhaps  75,000  more  wage  earners. 

This  piece  goes  to  pay  State,  City  and  County 
taxes  and  rents. 


djjjij^^^  This  piece  goes  to  pay  interest  and  dividends  to 
%K$jjjjijii&  the  people  who  have  invested  in  the  property. 

The  credit  of  a  railroad  is  largely  affected  by  the  attitude  of  the 
public  toward  it.  Do  not  these  great  activities  justify  reasonable 
consideration  when  rates  or  laws  arc  proposed  affecting  »o  closely 
the  prosperity  of  so  lar^e  n  proportion  of  the  people? 


,  NEVYYORlC 

CENTRAL 

*'     LINES    .J 


"For  th«  PuWk  Service1 


Stating  the  case  of  the  corporation  frankly  and  interestingly 


able  products,  like  certain  fruits,  dairy  products 
and  vegetables,  obviously  cannot  be  shipped  long 
distances.  National  advertising  would  create  a 
demand  covering  a  wider  territory  than  could  be 
reached,  and  too  much  of  the  advertising  would 
therefore  go  to  waste.  Heavy  articles,  like  stoves, 
refrigerators,  large  pieces  of  furniture,  brick,  lum- 
ber, and  other  goods  which  carry  high  freight 
charges,  still  have  a  somewhat  limited  circle  of 
economical  distribution.  A  few  manufacturers 
have  already  solved  these  problems,  by  such  meth- 
ods as  establishing  branch  distributing  points; 
more  can  solve  them  if  they  will  seek  expert  ad- 
vice, and  eventually  many  of  these  articles  will  be 
strong  advertising  possibilities. 

There  are  many  products  which  will  be  more 
widely  advertised  when  the  consumer  has  been  a 
little  better  educated.  Building  materials,  for  ex- 
ample, are  still  a  good  deal  of  a  mystery  to  the 
layman.  Already  varnish,  roofing,  cement,  hard- 
ware, wall-boards,  some  kinds  of  lumber,  are  be- 
ing made  known  by  name  to  the  consumer.  As  the 
owners  of  houses  and  business  buildings  become 
better  informed  about  the  importance  of  knowing 
the  respective  merits  of  the  things  that  enter  into 
construction,  the  manufacturers  will  respond.  In 
this  field,  however,  as  in  many  others,  the  manu- 
facturers themselves  can  successfully  take  the  in- 
itiative in  the  education  of  the  buying  public. 
198 


One  of  the  most  interesting  possibilities  of  ad- 
vertising is  in  connection  with  the  great  corpora- 
tions. 

There  are  already  evidences  of  the  response 
which  the  public  is  ready  to  make  to  the  right 
sort  of  corporation  advertising.  The  results  of  the 
work  of  Theodore  N.  Vail  in  merchandising  the 
telephone  are  there  for  all  to  see.  Mr.  Vail,  years 
ago,  went  directly  to  the  people  through  paid-for 
advertising  space.  He  has  showed  the  uses  of  the 
telephone.  He  has  demonstrated  its  economy, 
justified  the  rates.  He  has  explained  how  it  works, 
what  the  difficulties  are,  asked  for  consideration, 
solicited  criticism,  declared  his  intention  of  giving 
service — and  has  made  good. 

The  advertising  has  been  skillful.  But  it  has 
been  backed  up  by  actual  delivery  of  the  goods. 
As  a  result  the  telephone  has  attained  a  marvel- 
ously  rapid  development,  and  with  a  minimum 
of  friction.  How  much  agitation  do  we  hear  di- 
rected against  the  telephone  company,  or  how 
much  difficulty  does  it  have  with  legislatures? 

This  is  one  of  the  most  striking  instances  of  the 
creation  of  consumer  good-will  that  has  ever  been 
seen.  There  are  others,  of  course.  The  New  York 
Central  Lines  have  done  much  in  the  territory 
which  they  cover.  The  Hudson  and  Manhattan 
Railroad  Company,  by  frank  advertising,  telling 
why  there  was  real  necessity  for  greater  revenue, 

199 


accomplished  an  unheard-of  feat.  It  increased 
the  rate  of  fare  between  New  Jersey  and  uptown 
New  York  from  five  cents  to  seven  cents  without 
arousing  a  single  murmur  of  disapproval. 

Advertising  may  prove  to  be  the  Hercules 
to  clean  out  the  Augean  stables  of  politics  and 
flush  out  the  lobbyists,  press  agents  and  cor- 
rupters  of  public  officials.  It  seems  quite  likely 
that  advertising  is  destined  to  be  the  means  of 
bringing  about  that  era  of  good  feeling  which 
must  come  before  the  business  of  the  nation  will 
possess  the  confidence  of  the  farmer  and  of  the 
classes  which  live  by  wage  and  salary. 

If  advertising  is  allowed  to  accomplish  this  it 
will  do  so  by  two  methods: 

(1)  By  familiarizing  the  public  with  the  methods 
and  the  products  of  great  corporations. 

(2)  By  bringing  about  a  wider  distribution,  in 
smaller  blocks,  of  corporation  securities. 

This  done,  the  corporations  will  have  no  incen- 
tive to  seek  for  inequitable  laws  or  franchises, 
and  no  need  to  struggle  for  those  which  are  desir- 
able. Right  measures  will  pass  by  their  own 
weight  because  the  public  will  be  behind  them. 
Wrong  measures  will  fall  of  their  own  weight,  be- 
cause the  public  will  be  against  them. 

In  fact,  another  and  a  very  far-reaching  effect 
of  advertising  will  be  that  it  will  obligate  the  cor- 

200 


ffl 


Courtesy  Between 
Telephone  Users 

WOULD  you  rush  into  an  office  or  up  to  the  door  of  a 
residence  and  blurt  out  "Hello!  Hello!  Who  am  I 
talking  to?"  and  then,  when  you  received  a  reply,  follow 
up  your  wild,  discourteous  salutation  with  "I  don't  want  you;  get 
out  of  my  way.  1  want  to  talk  with  Mr.  Jones."  Would  you?  That 
is  merely  a  sample  of  the  impolite  and  impatient  conversations  that 
the  telephone  transmits  many  times  a  day. 

There  is  a  most  agreeable  mode  of  beginning  a  telephone 
conversation  which  many  people  are  now  adopting,  because  it  saves 
useless  words  and  is,  at  the  same  time*  courteous  and  direct.  It 
runs  thus : 

The  telephone  bell  rings,  and  the  person  answering  it  says : 
"  Morton  &.  Company,  Mr.  Baker  speaking."  The  person  calling 
then  says:  "  Mr.  Wood,  of  Cur»is  £  Sons,  wi&hes  to  talk  with  Mr. 
White/' 

When  Mr.  White  picks  up  the  receiver,  he  knows  Mr.  Wood 

undignified  "  Hello's."  he  at  once  greets  him  with  the  refreshingly 
courteous  salutation:  "Good  morning,  Mr.  Wood."  That  savors 
of  the  genial  handshake  that  Mr.  Wood  would  have  received  had 
he  called  in  person  upon  Mr,  White. 

Undoubtedly  there  would  be  a  far  higher  degree  of  telephone 
courtesy  particularly  in  the  way  of  reasonable  consideration  for 
the  operators,  if  the  "  face-to4ace  "  idea  were  more  generally  held 
in  rnind.  The  fact  that  a  line  of  wire  and  two  shining  instruments 
separate  you  from  the  person  with  whom  you  are  talking,  takes 
none  of  the  sting  out  of  unkind  words.  • 

Telephone  courtesy  means  answering  the  telephone  as  quickly 
as  possible  when  the  bell  rings— not  keeping  the  "  caller  "  waiting 
until  one  gets  good  and  ready  to  answer.  Telephone  courtesy,  on 
party  lines,  means  being  polite  when  someone  else  unintentionally 
breaks  in— not  snapping,  "Get  off  the  line;  I'm  using  it." 

In  a  word,  it  is  obviously  true  that  that  which  is  the  correct 
thing  to  do  in  a  face-to-face  conversation,  is  also  correct  in  a 
telephone  conversation,  and  anyone  has  but  to  apply  the  rules  of 
courtesy,  prescribed  long  yc;trs  before  the  telephone  was  first 
thought  of,  to  know  the  proper  manners  for  telephone  usage. 

Be  forbearing,  considerate  and  courteous.  Do  over  the 
telephone  as  you  would  do  face  to  face. 


Frank  advertising  has  much  to  do  with  the  favorable  attitude 
of  the  public  toward  the  telephone  companies 


porations  to  live  up  to  their  publicity.  They  will 
not  dare  to  propose  wrong  measures,  to  do  any- 
thing which  is  not  thoroughly  open  and  above- 
board.  For,  once  they  have  gone  before  the  public 
with  their  case,  their  every  act,  every  policy  will 
stand  forth  in  the  full  glare  of  popular  sophistica- 
tion. The  advertising  will  have  to  be  sincere,  and 
promise  will  have  to  be  matched  with  perform- 
ance. Otherwise,  it  will  fail,  as,  indeed,  similar 
attempts  have  already  failed. 

The  publications  are  not  suppliants  for  corpora- 
tion advertising  as  it  is  known  today. 

Most  great  corporations  have  tried  advertising, 
or  think  they  have.  But  many  of  them  have  done 
so  in  a  mysterious,  roundabout  way  which  has 
brought  them  no  tangible  good-will.  Others,  be- 
cause they  have  failed  to  perform  what  they 
promised,  have  been  forced  to  return  to  less  open 
tactics.  Most  publications  want  no  corporation 
advertising  unless  it  is  straightforward,  and  un- 
less performance  is  guaranteed.  They  say  to  the 
corporations:  "First  set  your  house  in  order. 
Discharge  your  press  agents,  your  lobbyists, 
your  army  of  so-called  counsel.  Substitute  for 
them  a  publicity  organization  that  knows  how 
to  tell  the  public  what  you  have  to  sell,  why  it  is 
worthy  of  patronage,  why  it  costs  what  it  costs. 
You  cannot  carry  water  on  both  shoulders.  Until 
you  will  do  business  that  way  your  advertising 
202 


will  not  succeed,  and  until  then  we  do  not  care  to 
print  your  advertising." 

The  same  reasoning  and  the  same  limitations 
apply  to  the  distribution  of  corporation  securi- 
ties. There  could  be  no  more  potent  influence  for 
creating  in  the  minds  of  the  people  a  desire  to 
understand  and  cooperate  with  the  corporations, 
or  for  imposing  upon  executives  and  directors  a 
deeper  sense  of  responsibility,  than  the  holding  of 
corporation  stocks  by  a  very  large  number  of  small 
investors  all  over  the  country.  This  rests  with  the 
great  financial  houses  and  bankers.  The  past  few 
years  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  public  education 
on  the  subject  of  securities.  The  get-rich-quick 
men  have  been  widely  exposed  and  the  people 
are  becoming  exceedingly  wary.  But  they  still 
have  money  to  invest.  The  downfall  of  the  faker 
offers  a  magnificent  opportunity  for  the  sale  of 
honest  securities.  But  Wall  Street  has  not  grasped 
the  opportunity.  It  has  not  come  forward,  dis- 
played its  legitimate  wares,  and  told  the  public 
just  what  they  represent.  When  Wall  Street  de- 
cides that  it  wants  a  wider  distribution  of  secur- 
ities, when  it  decides  that  its  business  would  be 
sounder  if  its  foundations  were  spread  wider,  then 
perhaps  it  will  be  ready  to  advertise. 

Again,  however,  this  advertising  will  be  sub- 
ject to  scrutiny  by  the  publications — which  can- 
not risk  the  loss  of  the  public  confidence  which 

203 


they  now  enjoy.  If  that  advertising  measures  up 
to  the  same  standards  to  which  other  modern  ad- 
vertising is  held  it  will  be  published — not  other- 
wise. And  when  it  is  published,  and  the  public 
and  the  corporations  are  thus  brought  nearer  to- 
gether, then  perhaps  we  shall  hear  less  talk  of  a 
"money  trust,"  and  less  talk  of  "corrupt  big 
business." 

In  this  way,  as  in  many  others,  it  appears  that 
advertising  in  the  future  may  be  of  great  general 
benefit  in  making  the  life  of  the  nation  more  ra- 
tional. 

For  advertising  is  the  great  leveler.  Faults, 
crookedness,  inefficiency  it  exposes.  Merits, 
honesty,  efficiency  it  brings  to  light. 

It  rules  by  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 


PART  TWO 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


THE  previous  chapters  of  this  volume  have 
been  intended  to  discuss  the  broad  basis 
upon  which  advertising,  and  more  particu- 
larly national  periodical  advertising,  rests.  The 
endeavor  has  been  to  avoid  specific  reference  to 
any  particular  publications,  except  where  such 
reference  has  been  important  in  the  illustration  of 
general  principles. 

In  the  following  pages  more  particular  atten- 
tion is  devoted  to  the  Curtis  publications,  as  ex- 
emplifying in  various  ways  the  methods  already 
recommended.  This  latter  portion  of  the  book 
contains  much  that  is  quite  as  broad  and  quite  as 
vital  to  a  thorough  understanding  of  modern  ad- 
vertising as  the  earlier  chapters,  because  the  Curtis 
publications  are  recognized  exponents  of  modern 
advertising. 


I 

Ten  Million  Dollars  a  Year 


AUGNIFICANT  tendency  in  modern  na- 
tional advertising  is  concentration.  While 
the  volume  of  expenditures  for  advertising 
is  constantly  growing,  the  number  of  mediums  is 
not  increasing  in  proportion.  Those  publications 
which  have  proved  their  mettle  through  bringing 
results  are  by  a  natural  process  becoming  the 
main  reliance  of  more  and  more  manufacturers. 

More  than  one-third  of  the  money  spent  for 
national  advertising  in  the  fifty-three  leading 
publications  of  the  country  in  1912  was  concen- 
trated in  just  two  mediums.  For  the  purpose  of 
talking  to  the  readers  of  these  two  publications 
the  manufacturers  of  the  United  States  in  one 
year  invested  nearly  $10,000,000. 

To  comprehend  fully  present-day  advertising 
one  should  know  something  about  the  growth 
which  these  two  mediums  have  had  during  the 
past  seven  or  eight  years,  the  influence  which 
they  have  exercised  upon  the  course  of  modern 
publicity,  and  the  policies  of  the  company  which 
is  responsible  for  them. 

The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  The  Saturday 
Evening  Post  constitute  what  has  come  to  be 

209 


called  the  "Curtis  Circulation,"  (now  supple- 
mented by  other  strong  publications,  to  be  dis- 
cussed later.) 

The  largest  and  most  astute  advertisers,  those 
having  far-flung  sales  lines,  realize  the  potentiali- 
ties of  the  Curtis  Circulation  for  them.  Nation- 
wide manufacturing  concerns  in  one  year  spend 
from  $50,000  to  $150,000  each  in  the  columns  of 
these  two  publications.  The  leading  specialty 
mail-order  houses,  with  their  intimate  touch  on 
sales  methods  and  their  facilities  for  scientific 
analysis,  find  it  worth  while  to  spend  many  thous- 
ands of  dollars  for  space.  The  small  manufac- 
turer, on  the  other  hand,  spends  his  relatively 
small  appropriation  in  these  same  columns,  and 
if  his  advertising  is  intelligently  done  and  skill- 
fully followed  up  he,  too,  secures  substantially 
profitable  results. 

And  yet,  when  all  is  said  and  done,  that  which 
most  deserves  remark  is  not  the  results  obtained. 
It  is  rather  the  means — the  Curtis  Circulation 
itself,  given  which,  the  results  must  follow  as 
surely  as  the  tide  follows  the  moon. 

Spread  out  in  an  intricate  network  the  Curtis 
lines  of  communication  cover  the  entire  country. 
Wherever  people  gather  together  in  towns  and 
cities  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  The  Sat- 
urday Evening  Post  stand  forth  on  every  news- 
stand, and  the  "Post  boys,"  with  their  neat  can- 

210 


vas  bags,  dot  the  streets.  In  the  back  country, 
the  tank  towns,  even  on  the  edge  of  the  frontier, 
rural  free  delivery  carries  the  messages  of  hun- 
dreds of  manufacturers.  They  climb  mountains, 
pierce  forests  and  sail  seas. 

In  most  localities  the  Curtis  Circulation  com- 
pares favorably  with  that  of  the  leading  news- 
paper. One  million  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand persons  buy  the  Journal.  Two  million  persons 
buy  the  Post.  This  makes  a  total  of  considerably 
more  than  three  million  buyers  of  these  two  pub- 
lications, excluding  duplication.  This  is  the  larg- 
est group  of  consumers  in  the  world  that  may  be 
influenced  through  a  common  channel. 

The  total  population  of  the  United  States  com- 
prises 18,890,000  families.  One  in  six  of  all  the 
families  in  the  country  buys  one  or  the  other  of 
these  two  publications. 

The  reason  for  their  influence,  however,  lies 
deeper  than  that.  It  is  in  the  selective  character  of 
the  circulation.  Automatically,  by  their  very  na- 
ture, they  pick  out  the  kind  of  families  that 
manufacturers  of  good  goods  want  to  reach. 

Of  all  the  families  in  the  United  States  one- 
fifth  cannot  or  do  not  read  English.  Excluding 
these  at  the  outset  there  are  15,112,000  families. 
Another  fifth  have  incomes  that  allow  of  only 
bare  necessities.  These  too  are  obviously  excluded 
from  the  purchase  of  high-class  publications. 

212 


There  remain  something  over  12,000,000  families 
that  are  relatively  intelligent  and  prosperous. 
One  in  every  four  of  these  households  is  entered  by 
a  Curtis  publication. 

Each  week  there  is  being  consumed  in  the 
United  States: 

Food  Supplies $126,000,000 

Clothing  (men's) 13,200,000 

Clothing  (women  s) 10,000,000 

Clothing  (children  s) 18,700,000 

Shoes 10,000,000 

Furniture 10,000,000 

Books  and  Papers 3,200,000 

Out  of  this  partial  budget  of  the  nation  no  less 
than  $30,000,000  worth  of  staples  and  luxuries  is 
consumed  weekly  by  the  families  who  buy  these 
two  publications.  This  select  army  of  buyers  will 
ask  for  the  goods  they  know,  if  those  goods  are 
worthy  of  the  demand. 

And  manufacturers  know  it — have  proved  it. 
In  a  single  year  manufacturers  have  invested  in 
advertising  in  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  ap- 
proximately the  following  sums: 

For  Automobiles  and  Accessories  .  .  .$1,722,688 

For  Building  Materials 213,706 

For  Food  Products 857,962 

For  Machinery  and  Motors 103,^50 

For  Shoes 130,000 

213 


For  Office  Furniture  and  Supplies.  .     $433,575 

For  Men's  Clothing  897,875 

For  Tools 114,600 

And  in  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  approxi- 
mately the  following: 

For  China,  Glass  and  Silverware .  .  .  .  $  84,500 

For  Dressmaking  Accessories 48,900 

For  Food  Products 1,082,481 

For  Hosiery 64,500 

For  Jewelry 62,125 

For  Musical  Instruments 105,854 

For  Rugs,  Furniture  and  Decorations  47,075 

For  Textiles 119,425 

If  advertisers  of  such  commodities  merely 
dashed  into  the  Journal  and  the  Post  only  to 
disappear  and  be  replaced  by  others  it  might  be 
said  that  they  were  experimenting,  or  that  excep- 
tionally good  salesmanship  was  being  displayed 
by  the  publishers.  But  the  skyrocket  advertisers 
are  the  exception.  Year  after  year  the  same  firms 
continue  to  advertise,  continue  to  increase  their 
space,  continue  to  select  the  Curtis  publications. 
This  confidence  must  be  based  upon  results. 

Results  may  be  attributed  to  one  or  both  of 
two  factors — quantity  of  circulation  and  quality 
of  circulation.  In  most  cases  it  is  due  to  both;  in 
some  chiefly  to  quantity,  in  others  to  quality. 
There  are  notable  examples  of  success  in  each  case. 
214 


In  the  United  States  there  are  228  leading  trad- 
ing centers,  each  of  them  a  city  of  25,000  or  more 
inhabitants.  The  total  population  of  all  these  cen- 
ters is  28,763,000,  or  31  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
population.  From  these  commercial  nuclei  radiate 
our  railroads,  street  railways,  steamship  lines,  and 
the  pack  trains  of  the  hinterland. 

Take  the  cases  of  two  firms — A,  soapmaker, 
who  has  146,000  selling  outposts,  and  B,  piano- 
players,  who  has  less  than  250.  Each  has  a  mag- 
nificent distribution — for  his  particular  product- 

A's  soap  at  five  cents  a  cake  has  frequent  sales. 
Every  one  sells  it — even  the  little  sawmill  store  in 
Minnesota  and  the  emergency  store  on  the  rim  of 
the  great  city. 

When  A  uses  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and 
The  Saturday  Evening  Post  it  is  quantity  that 
bulks  large  in  his  estimate  of  their  value.  He 
wants  all  those  readers  to  like  his  soap.  That  they 
are  earnest  and  affluent  readers  is  a  supplemen- 
tary advantage.  Even  relatively  poor  readers 
would  buy  a  five-cent  bar  of  soap. 

The  purchase  of  a  piano-player  from  B,  how- 
ever, involves  a  far  greater  investment,  is  of  far 
greater  importance,  and  in  any  home  occurs  only 
once.  To  buy  any  such  article  for  the  home  or  for 
business — an  automobile,  a  piano,  an  electric 
crane,  a  filing  system,  or  a  motor  truck,  the  pur- 
chaser thinks  long,  and  then  goes  on  the  inter- 

215 


urban  to  Indianapolis,  Rochester  or  Boston  to 
buy. 

B  must  depend  absolutely  upon  creating  con- 
fidence. He  knows  that  the  purchase  of  his  goods 
is  a  matter  of  moment  with  any  one,  and  that  any 
one  will  be  glad,  if  he  wants  a  piano-player,  to 
ride  for  an  hour  or  two  to  consummate  the  pur- 
chase from  a  dealer  in  one  of  the  228  trading  cen- 
ters. The  message  must  be  carried  to  consumers 
in  such  a  way  that  they  will  feel  instinctively  its 
integrity  and  know  that  it  is  worth  while  for 
them  to  make  this  journey  for  the  purchase.  And 
it  must  be  addressed  so  far  as  possible  only  to 
those  people  among  whom  may  be  found  possible 
purchasers  of  a  piano-player.  In  other  words,  the 
quality  of  circulation  is  the  factor  which  impels 
B  to  advertise  in  the  Curtis  publications,  even 
though  he  knows  that  many  thousands  of  the 
readers  will  not,  could  not  by  any  chance  be  ex- 
pected to  purchase  what  he  has  to  sell. 

Quality  of  circulation  for  advertising  purposes 
depends  upon  several  conditions : 

(1)  The  appeal  of  the  editorial  matter. 

(2)  The  manner  in  which  the  publication  is  sold. 
(S)   The  standard  to  which  the  advertisements  are 

held. 

The  appeal  of  the  Curtis  publications  is  to  the 
intelligent,  the  earnest  and  the  progressive.  The 

216 


Typical  illustrations  from  the  lively  circulation  literature 

sent  out  by  the  Curtis  Company 

(Drawn  by  F.  G.  Cooper) 


Ladies'  Home  Journal  has  from  the  first  been  de- 
signed for  the  home  loving.  The  Saturday  Even- 
ing Post  has  from  the  first  been  designed  for  the 
men  and  women  who  desire  a  wholesome,  sane 
and  entertaining  treatment  of  modern  life  in  fic- 
tion and  in  fact.  The  contents,  the  illustrations, 
art  work  and  printing  of  both  publications  are  of 
high  grade.  Thus  are  assured  not  only  the  close 
and  sympathetic  attention  of  the  reader,  but  also 
a  solid  permanency  of  interest  which  keeps  each 
copy  on  the  library  table  long  after  it  first  enters 
the  home.  This  esteem  for  the  publication  extends 
to  the  advertising,  and  this  length  of  life  keeps 
the  advertisements  at  work.  Frequently  cases  oc- 
cur of  replies  to  advertisements  printed  a  year  or 
more  earlier. 

The  interest  of  the  readers,  founded  thus  upon 
what  is  in  the  publication,  is  further  assured  by 
the  Curtis  method  of  obtaining  circulation.  No 
premiums,  no  bonuses,  no  clubbing  arrangements 
are  offered.  Circulation  is  never  given  away  by 
any  method  whatsoever.  The  advertiser  is  able  to 
feel  assured  that  every  one  who  buys  a  Curtis 
publication  buys  it  because  he  wants  the  publi- 
cation itself.  We  value  what  we  pay  for.  We  re- 
gard casually  that  which  comes  easily.  If  we  buy 
a  periodical  because  with  it  we  are  given  an  article 
of  household  use,  a  book,  or  even  some  other 
magazine,  our  interest  is  divided.  There  is  always 
218 


s. 

•s> 


f 


strong  doubt  whether  the  periodical  or  the  per- 
quisite had  most  to  do  with  our  purchase.  Six 
million  dollars  a  year  is  paid  by  the  men  and 
women  of  this  country  simply  to  read  the  Curtis 
publications.  They  have  no  other  inducement 
than  their  interest  in  the  periodicals  themselves. 

The  system  of  distribution  is  a  peculiarly  strong 
factor  in  determining  the  value  of  the  Curtis  cir- 
culation. 

In  addition  to  the  usual  channels,  such  as  sub- 
scriptions and  newstands,  the  publications  go  out 
through  thousands  of  boys,  who  sell  them  on  the 
street,  in  office  buildings  and  by  house-to-house 
canvass — usually  to  regular  weekly  or  monthly 
customers.  In  each  locality,  this  distribution  is 
in  exclusive  charge  of  a  district  agent.  The  pub- 
lisher deals  directly  with  him,  not  with  the  boys, 
and  he  is  responsible  for  the  sales  in  his  district, 

Stability  and  continuity  of  circulation  are  as- 
sured by  this  district  agency  system.  Each  agent, 
when  employed,  files  a  cash  bond,  placing  him 
under  contract  to  maintain  the  price,  not  to  sell 
copies  before  the  day  of  issue,  and  to  observe 
other  regulations. 

But  this  bond  is  not  solely  a  guarantee  of  good 
behavior.  Its  important  feature  is  that  it  safe- 
guards against  a  sudden  decision  on  the  part  of 
the  agent  to  withdraw,  leaving  his  territory  de- 
moralized until  a  new  one  is  secured. 

220 


Even  in  times  of  stress,  the  Curtis  circulation 
moves  on  an  even  keel.  At  the  time  of  the  flood, 
for  example,  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  was 
read  in  Dayton  almost  as  universally  as  ever, 
even  where  newspapers  were  not  to  be  obtained, 
through  quick  action  by  district  agents  who  were 
right  on  the  spot.  In  Chicago  not  long  ago  the 
police  department  suddenly  decided  to  enforce  an 
old  ordinance  forbidding  the  sale  of  magazines 
or  weeklies  on  the  city  newstands.  The  Saturday 
Evening  Post  that  week  had  95  per  cent,  of  its 
normal  circulation  in  the  city  of  Chicago. 

This  organization  is  not,  as  some  may  have 
supposed,  an  engine  for  "forcing"  circulation  be- 
yond a  point  of  value.  "  Forcing  "  the  circula- 
tion of  publications  which  are  never  sold  for  less 
than  the  standard  price,  and  never  sold  with  pre- 
miums, is  impossible.  People  will  not  continue 
to  buy  a  full-price  publication  for  any  reason  ex- 
cept that  they  want  to  read  it. 

The  district  agency  system,  by  which  each  agent 
is  closely  bound  to  the  parent  organization  and 
knows  how  many  copies  he  is  expected  to  sell, 
thus  becomes  of  importance  to  advertisers.  It 
gives  a  steadily  maintained  circulation  in  each 
community,  without  fluctuation;  and  evenly 
distributed  over  the  nation  in  almost  direct  pro- 
portion to  the  distribution  and  character  of 
population. 

221 


The  influence  of  the  standard  of  advertising 
upon  the  character  of  circulation  may  not  be  so 
readily  apparent  as  the  influence  of  distribution 
methods.  It  is  nevertheless  strong — and  may  be 
verified  out  of  one's  own  experience.  In  these 
days  when  the  advertising  rivals  the  editorial 
matter  for  attention  the  good  will  of  a  reader 
may  be  endangered  quite  as  much  by  deceitful 
or  flamboyant  advertising  as  by  misinformation 
or  "yellowness"  in  the  editorial  pages.  The 
confidence  of  readers  in  the  Curtis  publications 
is  due  almost  as  much  to  the  careful  editing 
(censorship)  of  the  advertisements  as  to  the  care- 
*  f ul  editorship  of  the  reading  matter. 

The  censorship  policy  of  this  company  has  al- 
ready been  touched  upon.  The  first  embargo  was 
upon  fraudulent  and  semi-fraudulent  patent 
medicine  advertising,  and  at  about  the  same  time 
all  advertising  which  might  be  construed  as 
morally  harmful  was  excluded.  Next  were  de- 
barred the  purveyors  of  doubtful  real  estate  and 
get-rich-quick  investments.  With  this  went  also 
all  advertising  which,  although  the  product  might 
itself  be  worthy,  was  willfully  so  written  as  to 
deceive.  By  a  natural  sequence  this  led  to  the 
elimination  of  statements  which,  while  techni- 
cally true,  might  be  construed  as  exaggerated, 
or  misleading,  or  as  attacking  unduly  some  com- 
petitor. 

222 


u 

X 


te- 


Every  step  was  one  of  progress,  because  every 
step  tended  toward  strengthening  public  faith  in 
the  integrity  of  advertising. 

The  foundation  upon  which  the  censorship 
policy  of  the  Curtis  Publishing  Company  has 
been  built  was  one  not  primarily  of  ethics — al- 
though the  honest  desire  to  protect  readers  for 
their  own  sakes  had  much  to  do  with  it — but 
largely  one  of  business  expediency.  Only  by  re- 
taining unbroken  the  faith  of  its  readers  can  a 
publication  assure  permanently  to  its  advertisers 
serious  attention  for  their  announcements.  Only 
by  insisting  that  each  advertiser  shall  do  his  part 
to  make  his  own  advertising  trustworthy,  and 
obviously  trustworthy,  can  the  faith  of  readers  in 
all  advertising  be  continued  and  strengthened. 
The  whole  thing  runs  in  a  circle.  The  success  of 
each  advertiser  means  more  prosperity  for  the 
publication.  Greater  prosperity  for  the  publica- 
tion means  a  better  publication  for  the  readers, 
and,  therefore,  an  increased  circulation.  An  in- 
creased circulation,  founded  on  confidence,  means 
greater  success  for  every  advertiser. 

The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  The  Saturday 
Evening  Post  represent  the  best-known  activities 
of  The  Curtis  Publishing  Company,  and  the  ones 
which  are  most  informing  to  the  student  of 
advertising.  But  it  now  has  other  publications, 
to  which  it  is  devoting  the  same  energies  and 
224 


policies  which  have  resulted  in  its  previous  suc- 
cesses. 

The  Country  Gentleman,  the  oldest  agricul- 
tural journal  in  the  world,  was  purchased  by  the 
Curtis  Company  in  June,  1911.  The  circulation, 
which  at  that  time  was  less  than  thirty  thousand, 
has  already  been  increased  to  more  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  and  is  rapidly  grow- 
ing. This  is  less  than  six  per  cent,  of  the  total  cir- 
culation of  the  greater  publications.  But  even 
with  this  relatively  smaller  clientele  The  Country 
Gentleman  has  become  a  leader  in  the  farm-paper 
field.  It  has  the  largest  circulation  of  all  agricul- 
tural publications  with  a  subscription  price  of 
$1.00  or  more  per  year.  Conducted  absolutely  in 
accordance  with  the  policies  which  have  made  the 
successes  of  the  other  Curtis  publications,  it  has 
already  brought  results  which  have  rapidly  placed 
it  in  the  forefront  of  its  class. 

In  July,  1912,  the  control  of  The  Home  Pattern 
Company  was  purchased  by  The  Curtis  Publish- 
ing Company,  bringing  with  it  two  pattern  peri- 
odicals in  which  advertising  was  being  carried. 
These  publications  are  being  continued,  but  with- 
out advertising.  In  August,  1913,  The  Home 
Pattern  Company  purchased  Toilettes,  a  New 
York  publication  with  a  record  of  twenty -four 
years  in  the  field  of  fashion.  This  is  being  issued 
by  The  Home  Pattern  Company  in  a  new  dress, 

225 


and  under  the  new  name  of  The  Criterion  of 
Fashion,  the  first  issue  being  October,  1913. 

This  publication,  which  will  appear  monthly 
and  will  sell  for  five  cents,  will  carry  advertising, 
its  advertising  columns  being  under  the  direction 
of  the  Curtis  advertising  department. 

The  Criterion  of  Fashion  is  planned  to  fill  a  need 
which  is  felt  by  most  women,  and  which  no  other 
publication  attempts  to  fill.  Its  purpose  is  to 
give  the  average  woman  with  the  average  taste 
and  average  means,  all  that  is  interesting  and  all 
that  is  helpful  on  the  dominating  feminine  sub- 
ject— dress.  There  have  long  been  periodicals 
for  the  wealthy  woman  with  a  liking  for  extreme 
styles  and  plenty  of  money  to  spend  on  them. 
There  have  been  practical  publications  for  the 
professional  modiste  and  milliner.  There  have 
been  publications  which  gave  large  attention  to 
dress,  but  which  aimed  to  cover  all  the  interests 
of  the  woman  as  well,  and  to  print  fiction  and 
feature  articles.  None  of  these  have  provided  the 
average  woman  who  is  an  amateur  with  all  she 
wants  to  know  about  dress,  undiluted  by  other 
reading  matter.  This  The  Criterion  of  Fashion 
will  do. 

It  is  primarily  designed  to  be  helpful,  so  help- 
ful as  to  be  indispensable  in  the  boudoir  or  the 
sewing  room  just  as  the  cook-book  is  indispensa- 
ble in  the  kitchen.  It  will  show  the  new  styles,  the 
226 


news  of  the  world  of  fashion,  but  above  all,  how 
to  sew,  what  to  sew,  how  to  take  care  of  clothes, 
how  to  take  out  spots,  mend,  darn,  crochet,  fix 
over,  fit  up  the  sewing  corner,  fasten  the  veil,  dress 
the  baby,  trim  her  dolls. 

Its  helpfulness  is  what  will  make  it  interesting, 
for  every  woman  is  passionately  and  constantly 
devoted  to  studying,  thinking  and  talking  about 
dress  and  all  that  goes  with  it.  It  will  show  some 
of  the  best  of  the  new  Ladies'  Home  Journal  pat- 
terns each  month,  and  in  this  way  will  be  directly 
linked  with  the  pattern  distribution. 

It  will,  therefore,  find  its  chief  sales  outlet  over 
the  counters  of  the  5,000  dry  goods  and  depart- 
ment stores  which  sell  Ladies'  Home  Journal  dress 
and  embroidery  patterns.  Selling  it  at  a  profit  to 
their  own  customers  and  usually  to  possible  pur- 
chasers of  patterns  and  dress  materials,  these 
merchants  will  logically  find  it  to  their  interest  to 
cooperate  with  such  a  publication  and  with  its 
advertisers. 

The  Curtis  advertising  organization  is  a  well- 
rounded  one.  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  The 
Criterion  of  Fashion  appeal  directly  to  women, 
the  one  supplementing  the  other.  The  Saturday 
Evening  Post,  while  its  appeal  is  general,  is  also 
the  leading  publication  of  the  times  for  reaching 
business  men.  The  Country  Gentleman  appeals 
to  the  farmers.  This  is  a  group  which,  when 

227 


strengthened  by  the  continued  enlargement  of 
the  circulation  of  The  Country  Gentleman,  will 
render  a  complete  advertising  service  to  the  man- 
ufacturers of  the  United  States,  reaching  with 
an  almost  unbelievable  degree  of  efficiency  every 
leading  type  of  available  consumer.  Two  of  the 
publications  are  already  recognized  as  the  greatest 
consumer-reaching  forces  in  the  country — one  for 
women  as  a  whole,  the  other  for  men  as  a  whole, 
while  both  have  an  interest  for  the  entire  family. 
A  third  appeals  directly  to  the  greatest  single  clas- 
sification of  our  population — the  farmers — the 
ultimate  source  of  national  prosperity.  And  the 
fourth  has  peculiar  qualifications  for  reaching,  in 
addition  to  women,  many  thousand  important  re- 
tail dealers. 

No  manufacturer  who  desires  a  national  dis- 
tribution can  afford  to  overlook  the  opportunity 
offered  to  him  today  by  this  consistent  group  of 
publications. 


II 

Advertising  to  Women 

A  I  impossible  tale  is  told  of  a  woman  who 
entered  the  postoffice  and  asked, "Do you 
keep  stamps?"  The  clerk  produced  the 
familiar  large  sheet  of  100.  She  reached  for  the 
whole  sheet,  scanned  it  critically,  and,  placing  her 
finger  on  one  stamp  near  the  center,  said  sweetly, 
"I'll  take  this  one." 

The  trait  of  fine  discrimination  in  merchandise 
thus  satirized  accounts  for  the  early  and  continu- 
ous success  of  advertising  which  is  directed  to 
women. 

In  her  diligent  search  for  the  best  values  woman 
places  much  of  her  reliance  upon  advertising,  pro- 
vided that  the  advertising  is  backed  up  by  assur- 
ance of  reliability. 

Woman  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  spending 
90  per  cent,  of  the  family  income,  and  vexed  with 
many  problems  incident  thereto.  She  must  make 
a  house — a  home.  She  buys  the  groceries,  the  toys, 
the  carpets,  the  bedding — the  piano  and  the  coal- 
hod.  It  is  she  that  is  interested  in  the  stove,*  the 
wall  decorations,  the  wash-tubs.  Every  consider- 
ation from  necessity  to  luxury  is  almost  entirely 
her  problem. 

229 


She  it  is,  in  many  a  family,  who  guides  the  man 
in  even  the  selection  of  his  own  clothing — his  hat, 
his  suit,  his  overcoat — and  it  is  usually  she  herself 
who  sallies  forth  and  lays  in  a  stock  of  underwear, 
hosiery  and  such  other  garments  concerning  which 
he,  careless  creature,  is  liable  to  procrastinate. 

The  home  is  her  factory.  There  raw  materials 
are  being  converted  into  finished  products,  flour 
into  pastry,  cloth  into  clothes.  There  she  com- 
petes with  other  men's  wives  in  the  dressing  of 
her  children,  in  the  dainties  on  her  table,  in  the 
tasty  arrangement  of  living-room.  And  she  reads 
her  own  trade  journal,  in  which  she  studies  the 
market  for  the  purchase  of  her  raw  materials,  and 
learns  the  alchemy  of  her  cooking.  This  journal 
becomes  her  clearing-house,  where  she  exchanges 
ideas  with  other  women.  From  it  she  learns  to 
buy  what  they  buy, to  provide  what  they  provide. 

For  twenty -nine  years  The  Ladies'  Home  Jour- 
nal has  been  the  buying  guide  of  millions  of 
women,  and  upon  the  information  in  its  adver- 
tising columns,  as  well  as  upon  the  information 
and  entertainment  in  its  editorial  pages,  it  has 
built  a  notable  reputation. 

"The  Journal,"  a  well-known  New  York  pub- 
lisher has  said,  "is  not  a  publication,  it  is  an  in- 
stitution." 

In  1883  Cyrus  H.  K.  Curtis  was  publishing  a 
rural  weekly  called  the  Tribune-Farmer,  which 

230 


•  f 


The  Journal  at  the  Coliseum  in  Rome 


had  48,000  subscribers.  There  was  a  clearly  recog- 
nizable demand  for  a  department  in  this  paper 
especially  for  women.  And  so  he  started  one.  It 
sprang  into  immediate  popularity,  and  soon  be- 
gan to  overshadow  the  rest  of  the  paper.  It  was 
then  determined  to  launch  it  as  a  separate  publi- 
cation, appearing  monthly.  The  first  year  its  cir- 
culation was  25,000.  Three  years  later  it  was 
400,000.  Mr.  Curtis  discerned  here  an  opportu- 
nity for  untold  development;  he  sold  the  Tribune- 
Farmer  and  began  to  build  up  The  Ladies'  Home 
Journal  as  we  know  it  today. 

The  policy,  adopted  then,  which  has  given  the 
Journal  its  powerful,  far-reaching  influence,  can 
best  be  outlined  in  the  words  of  Edward  Bok, 
who  has  been  its  editor  since  October,  1889.  Mr. 
Bok  said  several  years  ago:  "I  have  edited  the 
magazine  with  one  woman  in  view.  I  have  never 
met  her,  but  a  year  or  two  after  I  became  editor 
Mr.  Curtis  and  I  made  a  tour  of  the  smaller  cities 
to  study  the  needs  of  the  American  people.  In  one 
city  I  saw  a  woman  who  seemed  to  me,  by  her 
dress,  manner,  and  in  every  way,  to  be  typical  of 
the  best  American  womanhood.  I  saw  her  at 
church  and  at  a  concert,  with  her  husband  and 
children.  I  passed  her  house  and  saw  about  it  the 
same  air  of  typical  'homeness'  and  refinement  I 
had  noted  in  her.  'That  woman,'  I  said  to  myself, 
'is  the  woman  I  shall  have  in  view  in  editing  the 
232 


a 


magazine.'  A  few  years  later  I  received  a  letter 
from  her  telling  me  how  the  magazine  had  helped 
her  in  her  home  and  with  her  family." 

Thus  deliberately  directed  to  a  certain  type  of 
woman  and  a  certain  kind  of  home  the  Journal 
naturally  enough  does  not  appeal  to  every  woman 
or  to  every  home.  To  some  its  appeal  is  only 
slight  and  of  little  moment.  To  the  illiterate,  the 
slovenly,  the  shiftless,  the  improvident,  its  pur- 
chase is  not  warranted.  To  the  cliff-dweller  of 
New  York  living  in  apartments  de  luxe,  thinking 
in  terms  of  tiaras,  English  lords  and  Monte  Car- 
los, The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  is  negligible.  The 
extreme  fashions  of  the  swagger  set,  the  shops  of 
the  elite,  the  box  in  the  horse-shoe,  contribute  an 
environment  to  which  it  is  alien. 

Thus  are  automatically  excluded  those  who 
can't  read,  those  who  won't  read,  those  who 
can't  afford  to  read — and  those  who  do  not  love  a 
home.  To  amuse,  instruct,  comfort  and  inspire  the 
woman  whose  constant  thought  is  to  make  a  real 
home  for  her  husband  and  children,  that  is  the 
mission  and  the  accomplishment  of  The  Ladies' 
Home  Journal. 

The  final  tests  of  a  magazine's  excuse  for  exist- 
ence are  the  confidence  which  its  readers  accord 
it,  and  the  confidences  they  bring  to  it.  The  anx- 
ious questions  which  come  quietly  in  each  day's 
mail,  and  never  see  the  light  of  the  printed  page; 

234 


from  women  seeking  advice,  help,  knowledge, 
comfort,  information — and  lonely  women  seeking 
an  intimate  touch  with  something  outside  them- 
selves. 

In  the  first  six  months  of  1913  The  Ladies' 
Home  Journal  received  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mil- 
lion such  letters.  It  answered  them,  each  one — not 
briefly  and  publicly  through  its  open  columns, 
but  fully,  conscientiously,  confidentially,  through 
the  mails. 

Twenty-two  editors,  each  an  expert  in  his  or 
her  chosen  field,  stand  at  the  bidding  of  its  read- 
ers. There  are  departments  of  millinery  and  of 
music,  of  babies  and  of  building,  for  the  girl  who 
wants  to  make  money,  for  the  woman  who  wants 
to  make  her  housekeeping  efficient — and  many 
others. 

There  can  be  no  more  striking  example  of  the 
woman's  faith  in  an  institution  than  her  appeal  to 
it  for  help  with  her  child. 

Thousands  of  babies  are  fed,  bathed  and  cared 
for  under  directions  given  by  a  woman-physician 
attached  to  one  of  the  most  prominent  children's 
hospitals  in  New  York,  commissioned  by  The 
Ladies'  Home  Journal  to  take  care  of  its  questions 
from  young  mothers.  The  progress  of  these  babies 
is  painstakingly  charted  by  the  physician,  and  in- 
dividual reports  with  full  instructions  are  sent  to 
the  mothers  each  month  by  her,  covering  all  ques- 

235 


tions,  except  medical  prescriptions,  concerning 
their  babies,  from  the  temperature  of  the  rooms 
in  which  they  sleep  to  the  most  intricate  prob- 
lems of  their  feeding,  their  physical  care  and  their 
clothes. 

Twenty-five  thousand  homes  have  been  built 
in  the  United  States  by  plans  obtained  from  The 
Ladies'  Home  Journal.  A  prize  offer  brought  more 
than  8000  sets  of  photographs  showing  both  the 
exterior  and  interior  of  such  homes.  Eighty  per 
cent,  of  them  were  built  within  the  Journal  esti- 
mates. One  whole  residential  section  of  a  Southern 
city  was  built  so  largely  from  these  plans  that  it 
is  known  as  "Ladies'  Home  Journal ville." 

When  the  president  of  a  civic  organization  was 
addressing  Mr.  Taft,  then  Secretary  of  War,  on  a 
national  question  in  Washington  he  said : 

"In  my  capacity  as  an  editor  of  The  Ladies' 
Home  Journal  I  feel  that  I  am  also  representing 
the  women  of  America." 

"I  believe  it,"  answered  Mr.  Taft.  "Because  of 
your  recent  article  in  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal 
we  have  been  flooded  with  thousands  of  letters 
from  all  over  the  country.  Almost  all  the  women 
I  know,  including  even  my  mother  and  my  wife, 
have  written  to  me." 

Such  strength  as  this  breeds  more  strength. 
Because  of  its  position,  its  wide  circulation  and 
the  interest  with  which  it  is  read  the  best  authors 

236 


and  artists  are  glad  to  place  their  best  work  at 
the  command  of  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal.  Just 
as  it  has  made  advertisers  prosperous  it  has  made 
writers  famous.  It  has  put  books  among  the  best- 
sellers as  it  has  introduced  household  articles  to 
millions  of  homes.  It  is  able  to  draw  upon  hun- 
dreds of  sources  for  its  recipes,  its  needlework 
ideas,  its  helpful  suggestions  on  e very-day  affairs. 
Highly  skilled  designers  are  at  its  service  for 
dress  styles  and  millinery. 

Men  of  affairs,  not  ordinarily  willing  to  appear 
in  print,  who  recognize  that  the  Journal  helps 
to  shape  the  thought  of  American  women,  con- 
tribute discussions  of  topics  of  national  impor- 
tance. 

A  well-known  contributor  wrote  not  long  ago, 
"It  is  always  a  rare  pleasure  to  come  into  touch 
with  humanity  at  large  through  the  medium 
of  so  fearless  and  widely  known  and  honored 
a  publication  as  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal." 

Because  of  its  long  success,  too,  the  Journal  has 
been  endowed  with  the  mechanical  equipment  to 
illustrate,  print  and  bind  each  issue  in  the  most 
effective  way  known  to  the  printing  art. 

Edited  and  produced  with  all  the  advantages 
that  money  can  buy,  purchased  eagerly  by  a  mil- 
lion and  three-quarters  home-loving  women,  read 
by  them  with  the  closest  attention,  and  many  a 
time  passed  on  to  other  women,  The  Ladies' 

237 


Home  Journal  wields  an  influence  in  which  the 
advertiser  may  share. 

An  important  asset  for  the  manufacturer  who 
is  buying  space  in  which  to  print  a  message  is  the 
knowledge  that  that  message  will  be  believed  as 
well  as  read. 

Years  ago  the  Journal  inaugurated  the  then 
radical  policy  of  protecting  its  readers  against 
advertising  frauds.  The  Curtis  Publishing  Com- 
pany will  reimburse  a  reader  for  any  reasonable 
claim  which  he  or  she  may  have  against  any 
advertiser  if  the  loss  was  brought  about  by  the  in- 
fluence of  one  of  its  publications  (financial  adver- 
tising being  of  course  excepted) .  There  have  been 
a  number  of  cases  in  which  money  thus  spent  by 
readers  was  refunded,  even  in  extreme  circum- 
stances where  there  might  have  been  doubt 
whether  the  reader  used  ordinary  common  sense. 
But  considering  the  millions  upon  millions  of  trans- 
actions resulting  from  advertising  the  number  of 
times  when  this  reimbursement  policy  is  invoked 
is  infinitesimal.  This  is  due  to  the  care  with  which 
the  good  faith  of  the  advertiser  is  determined  be- 
fore his  announcement  is  printed. 

The  confidence  established  by  years  of  printing 
only  trustworthy  advertising  is  invaluable,  and 
advertisers,  old  and  new,  as  well  as  the  readers 
share  in  the  benefits.  The  advertiser  is  supposed 
to  pay  for  circulation  at  a  certain  rate  per  thou- 

238 


The  Michigan  "40" 

Wants  More  Dealers 


The  Record  to  Date 


by  Campbell 


Advertised  by  Hopkins 


Designed  by  Cameron  .   _          _ 

A  Great  Opportunity 


Our  Organization 


Michigan  Motor  Car  Company,  246  L»y  eivrf,  Kalamazoo,  Mich. 

by  th*  Oowxers  of  the  Michigan  Buggy  Company  *    r>^ 


Buying  two  million  circulation  just  to  reach  dealers.  Indirect 
appeal  to  consumer 


sand  readers.  But  here  he  gets  much  more  than  he 
pays  for.  He  gets  the  good-will  (the  confidence) 
that  goes  with  an  introduction  by  a  trusted  friend. 

Added  to  the  influence  of  the  Journal  with 
readers  is  its  prestige  with  dealers. 

When  an  advertiser  is  making  a  general  pub- 
licity appeal  the  impression  on  the  retail  merchant 
is  almost  as  important  as  the  impression  on  the 
consumer.  Create  "consumer  demand,"  but  be 
sure  that  your  dealers  know  your  plans  for  creat- 
ing that  demand,  and  help  you  "cash  in."  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  retail  merchants  have 
learned,  by  years  of  profitable  experience,  that  a 
solid  advertising  campaign  in  The  Ladies'  Home 
Journal  is  an  assurance  to  them  of  the  advisa- 
bility of  stocking  a  desirable  line  of  goods  so  ad- 
vertised, because  it  will  sell  easily. 

Dealers  therefore  read  the  Journal — men 
though  they  are — and  often  follow  its  lead.  In 
his  interviews  with  dry  goods  merchants  in  many 
parts  of  the  country  the  representative  of  the 
Curtis  research  division  is  continually  told : 

"I  read  the  Journal  so  as  to  be  in  touch  with 
new  ideas  in  my  business."  'The  buyers  in  all 
my  departments  read  it  for  suggestions."  :<We 
know  that  it  influences  the  women,  and  we  have 
to  keep  up  with  our  customers." 

In  one  of  the  biggest  stores  in  the  country  a 
buyer  said:  "A  salesman  positively  must  read  The 

240 


Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  its  advertisements.  If 
he  did  not,  the  ladies  would  inquire  for  something 
and  he  could  not  anticipate  what  they  want.  And 
another  thing,  we  know  that  an  advertisement 
there  carries  with  it  a  guaranty  that  it  has  been 
carefully  looked  up  and  is  something  of  value." 

Three  thousand  merchants  were  asked  by  an 
impartial  investigator:  "What  periodicals  are 
mentioned  most  by  your  customers  when  referring 
to  advertised  goods?"  Six  hundred  and  seventy- 
nine  said  the  Journal,  six  hundred  and  fifty -five 
The  Saturday  Evening  Post.  Many  said  both. 

When  many  important  buyers  in  many  stores 
agree  in  an  attitude  like  this  it  stands  for  a  thing 
of  very  tangible  value  to  the  manufacturer.  An 
advertising  campaign  in  The  Ladies'  Home  Jour- 
nal, linked  with  proper  consideration  for  the  in- 
terests of  the  dealer  and  an  appreciation  of  his 
cooperation,  thus  has  a  two-fold  efficacy.  It 
teaches  consumers  to  ask  for  your  goods,  and  it  en- 
courages merchants  to  stock  up  with  your  goods 
and  push  them. 

Have  you  ever  stopped  to  think  that,  with  its 
strength  in  influencing  both  consumer  and  dealer, 
advertising  space  in  such  a  publication  as  The 
Ladies'  Home  Journal  is  very  cheap? 

Suppose  you  were  to  send  one  postal  card  to 
each  one  of  the  1,750,000  women  who  buy  The 
Ladies'  Home  Journal.  It  would  cost  you — 

241 


For  postal  cards  (postage) .$17,500 

Addressing 19750 

Printing 700 

$19,950 

The  same  message,  in  a  space  the  same  size  as 
a  postal  card,  could  be  sent  to  these  1,750,000 
women,  through  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal, 
twenty-one  times  for  the  same  cost.  Or  the  same 
message,  in  full-page  space,  could  be  delivered 
three  times  to  the  same  women  at  the  same  cost. 

Nowhere  else,  moreover,  could  you  get  such  a 
select  list  of  1,750,000  intelligent,  prosperous  and 
home-loving  women. 

Beyond  that,  a  postal  of  this  kind  is  not  ex- 
pected and  probably  not  wanted.  The  same  mes- 
sage in  the  Journal  is  part  of  what  the  reader 
pays  to  get.  The  effect  is  proportionately  stronger. 

And  how  many  dealers  would  see  any  impor- 
tance to  them  in  what  you  were  doing — even  if 
they  knew  you  were  doing  it? 

The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  offers  to  new  adver- 
tisers the  facilities  for  duplicating  the  results  that 
have  often  been  obtained  by  others. 

The  use  of  these  facilities  rests  with  you. 


Ill 

Advertising  to  Business  Men 

THE  Saturday  Evening  Post  is  the  national 
bulletin  board.  It  is  so  generally  read,  so 
eagerly  awaited,  and  the  "Post  boys"  are 
so  familiar  a  figure  on  our  streets  and  at  our  doors 
that  in  many  a  town  Thursday  has  come  to  be 
known  as  "Saturday  Evening  Post  Day." 

For  the  man  who  wants  to  learn  about  adver- 
tising this  publication  has  a  purely  academic  in- 
terest. It  is  a  textbook  to  be  studied  from  many 
points  of  view.  It  has  broken  many  advertising 
records — circulation,  volume  of  returns  from  both 
big  and  little  space,  variety  of  products  marketed, 
power  to  bring  results  single-handed.  But,  perhaps 
most  significant,  it  has  found  a  way  to  advertise 
broadly  to  business  men. 

The  strength  of  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  in 
this  direction  is  an  interesting  and  somewhat  pe- 
culiar development  of  modern  advertising. 

Its  huge  clientele  of  business  men  readers  has 
come  to  be  regarded  as  so  valuable  that  some  ad- 
vertisers use  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  as  a 
trade  paper.  To  convey  a  message  to  only  a  few 
thousand  engineers,  for  example,  a  manufacturer 
of  some  product  purchased  only  by  engineers  and 

243 


of  no  direct  interest  to  the  public,  has  paid  the 
price  of  a  2,000,000  circulation  because  of  the 
force  with  which  that  message  would  reach  each 
individual  in  the  little  group  he  wanted.  Fre- 
quently it  is  employed  for  the  purpose  of  talking 
to  a  comparatively  small  number  of  dealers. 

It  should  not  be  deduced  that  this  is  the  chief 
function  of  the  weekly. 

Primarily  it  is  a  general  publication,  and  its 
greatest  strength  lies  in  its  wide  appeal.  But  its 
powerful  influence  with  the  business  man,  the 
most  difficult  individual  to  reach — because  of  his 
disinclination  to  read — is  the  best  testimony  to 
its  universal  influence. 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  discuss  the  adver- 
tising influence  of  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  in 
the  home.  Any  one  who  believes  in  advertising  at 
all  cannot  but  accept  the  fact  that  a  circulation  of 
2,000,000  made  up  of  such  eager,  interested  read- 
ers as  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  is  known  to 
have,  has  an  almost  limitless  power  in  the  mer- 
chandizing of  articles  of  general  use.  It  has  been 
proved  time  and  again.  Any  one  can  prove  it  to 
his  own  satisfaction  simply  by  comparing  the  ad- 
vertising columns  of  the  periodical  today  with 
those  of  five  years  ago,  and  noting  how  many 
household  commodities  advertised  in  the  older 
issues  are  still  there.  They  would  not  still  be 
there  unless  the  results  had  warranted.  A  single 

244 


The  Uttlverfd  Injkruftw  itt  off  Arts  and  Sciences  : 


AND 


Pennfylvania  Gazette. 


To  be  continued  Weekly.    *>«W  24,    1738. 


S  be  thjt  intends  to  ereS  a  n*W«  and  m*gn£» 
fe*nt  Struftare.is  oblig'd  to  makeUfe  oTehe 
woraeft  and  moft  contemptible  Materials, 


4 
ttdgroent  what  Sort  of  Bailing  it  will  bt, 
-  r  anJv  jbefcoldwg  fte  preparing  of  tfce  Mortar,  the  dig. 
Mt  a*  the  Stones,  trie  {muring  the  Marblc;  or  the  «;*- 


God,  «  Father  of  a!l  Things,    Tbo*  tbij  Way  of 


Ottler  to  begin,    carry   on,  and  perfect  hi. 
Undertaking  :  fo  noBertou  whatever  *aa  make 


JN%  &*  ohfcrv'd  of  our  Uttlv/rrfa! 
for  «*  Orcat  Tbitjtv  »re  compounded  of* 
think,  it  aec*ff»ry,  to  Oder  to  rami&  our 


and  a*  ittten  we 

as  fo  m«r?y  Me5«Bger\  to  declare 
iatare  *sd  Property  of!B<i«<,  it  cannot  be  Bought 
(tlnent  to  beain  at  the  loweft  End  firft,  aad  advance 
*KnMt»  to  tbe  higheft  Pitch  of  Knowledge  we  aim 

proceed, 


'Defr«a, 


Bat 


Explication  ha*  been  much  corrupted,  and  confcoue'ntly 
caadetnn'd  by  many  Learned  Writers. 

Of  «!»  the  Letters,  ^  is  obferrM  to  be  that  which. 
<Jtt»fa  Perfcns  are  fooneft  taught  to  pronoance.  The 
Keaftm  is,  that  it  does  not  depend  on  the  Mufcles,  or 
other  Organs  of  tbe  Mouth  and  Tongue,  which  arc  ge- 
nerally wanting  in  Mates;  but  OB  thafc  of  the  Throse 
aad  Note,  which  they  common!)-  have. 

Thitfirft  fimeieft  Sound  X  fcrves  us  to  expre&  moA 
of  the  Movements  of  the  Soul.  "Tit  fo  much  the  L*n- 

e  think  it  aecfcflfcry,  to  Order  to  rurntfli  our  g««ge  of  Nature,  that  open  all  faiien  **d  extraordinary 
th  proper  Material  <Ufervin*  ti»t  Charter,  Oc««fion«,  we  are  owwffarily  led  to  it,  ax  the  Infra- 
net  it  with  so  EjcpofiMon  on  the  Letter  A,  the  mem  ready  at  hand.  With  thi»  we  fneak  oar  Adrairati- 

9t.  Where  the  FaSJon  i>  very    ftrong,   we  frequently 
heighten  the  A,  by  adding  an  Afs'irate,  Ah. 

*Ti>    obfer»'d  of  the  £aglijb  Pronunciation,    that  we 
fpeafc  the  A  with  *  (tenderer  and  more  pony  Soaad  than 
*»y  of  our    Neighbours:   Ordinarily,  \i»  fcarce  broad 
fftough  for  a  Fremb  £   Neater,  and  comet  far  Svo>  t  of 
Tie  Grwrowarters  wi«  needs  bare  A  to  be  the  firft    the  gro&«  of  the  Germ***,  which  would  make  ««r  *», 
itt»r  !*  att  Languages  ;  and  fame  of  'e*  aftgn  *  tutu-    w  «a>,  or  *.     In  focv-  Word*  however    matt,   »*il, 
!  Rwsfoa  for  it,  twj.  That  it  is  the  moft  fitnple,  and    /?««,  0r.  the  *  is  broad,  and  deep  enough.    Bar  tin*, 
'  "   '»  be  piWMXinc'd  of  alt  urticalate  Soundi.    To    'tis  obferv'd,  may  no*  b«  the  «»e*r  Soand  of  4't  IM!  Oe 
this,  $*/«»  ^-^w,  a  fianoas  Author  obferresj   E^Wft  of  the  antient  Orthoefaphy,  wht«h,  at  low  a»  Qjt, 
is  the  firil  Souml  Natwe  pats  forth  at  the  cry.    fU^tsk,  added  »n  «  to  the  41,  and  wrote  tttutii,  ta«aH, 
«nd  fouling  of  Infants  ;  aod  that  it  needs  no  other    " 
itfon  to  form  it,  but  a  bftre  opening  of  tbe-  Lips, 
Geweffsevi+tt    reining  oft   this  Sentiment  of  Sc*iig<rt 
e  very  gravely,  that  the  firft  Sound  put  forth  by 
(4;  bat  that  Otris  &rK  p«t  forth  £;  each  pro- 
the  initial   or  firft  Letter,  of  the  Naire  of  the 
Its  r*fpee>ive  Sex.    Or.  J^ft/ffor»>(fettii>g  A&*r* 
)maiwr3  the  one  fp<tak  the  final,  sad  the  other  the 
;l  Letter  «  the  Mother  of  Mankind,  E»X. 
ft  *£«  in  v^tn  that  Authors  cosipare  the  .4  of  the 
(jfc»  X^f*)*,  frtitfiii   &f.  with  the  /t^pi  of  the  Ht- 
*,  or  the£?^  of  the  At*l'  ;  thofetwo  Letters  h*- 
no   Conformity  with  o«r  E*t9fe*tt  A,   except  in 
tnat  they  a.r*  Xhe  firflt  of  thffir  feveral  AlpHabetv 
t  makes  «  greater  Difference,  i*,  that  thefe  Oriental 
'  Bafterr.   /fs  *re  not  Voweli. 

Some  Crirtcks  take  the  ttttnt w  Aletb  to  be  neither 
Confowant,  but  what  th«f  Grammarians  caf! 
Ixtt 


The  Jbm«tu  UW  a  mighty  Streft  on  their  *;  «n4  dl- 
flinguifli'd  exactly,  teth  in  Writiog  and '  Speaking,  wfcen 
it  w»t  long,  and  when  ftiort.  Ta  d«aot«  it  long,  Aey 
wrote  it  double,  A*l«  for  jfl* :  which  not  being 
between  *em,  Ab<d*<  At 
coouttoa  teng  Accent  &IA  or  */4* 
ofthe,  Nttweral  Letter*  among  the  Antients^ 
and  fiantfVd  «oo  With  afiaft,  oo  the  Topi,  it  ft<»d 
for  5000. 

Safmius  gires  as  a  Set  of  ancient  Technical  Verfa* 
[tint  rV,  JS'Vr/t/  trtttifgtfJrt,  Technical  &ti«t  a  Wn& 
frtm  lt>t  Greck,/«toi£«$]  wherein  theNtxmetaJ  Va- 
lue of  each  Letter  or  the  Alphabet  is  exprefs'd,  whereoC 
thUitthefirft, 


f  e          oue, 

enough,  chay   inferred, 
length  they  fei!  to  tb~* 
^4  w<t«  one  of  thfi  Nttro 


ppcari  tr» 
le*tBt  it 


eV  wi/i  «/?»•«£  Srerti^  like  the  0  in  the  i«/i< 
I  ear  Langmge ;   adding    tear  St.  Jtrtm  iy 

had  the   &me   Thoagrtt,  who  probshh- 
i  th#%»/  of  tnc  School  of  Ttteriot,    But  the  Je- 
i  «fa  "fftvofx.  iiive  the  Thine  another  Torn.    Thofe 
>»'d  thit  the   Hebrew  /*V<J>A,  Arabtck 
i  C»76,  are  real  Conforms,  a»d  that 
'  ai!  the  other  Afpirates. 
'.-,    a  So't  of  Jt1K&  R»bbi«,  in  their 


r«^,js  ordi&y  rt8*) 
Verfe,  i*, 


"**«•»•  i*»  1  pretending  to  find  ottt  abftrafe  and 
iMean5»gt  therein,  tcl!  us,  the  At*ft>  aod  Sttk,  tite 
irft  Letters  being  joiVd,  make  X4j  which  %ni- 
Wbtr  in  H1^/!*  and  by  trtufpofiBg  Vm  into  8», 
/tibe,  which  in  the  Sfrt**  **&  CS«We*  %«ify 
i ;  wborefar  they  would  fecw,  they  point 


Teffifltt  A  HtitHttet , 
wbieh  tranfiited   into  JS 

^  by  it  feif,  Ttfj 

?ive  Hundred  Nuanhert  (in  right" 

Bat  we  fe&H  here  ohferve,  once  for  all,  that  it  wa» 
not  ftriaiy  among  the  Ae<ie»ts,  that  thit  UiV  of  Hums- 
rat  Letters  bad  Fiace,  ai  ia  commnnty  fappos'd.  Jftkrt 
Htfotleo/it,  an  AwWr  cf  tbe  VMth  Ceotnry,  affirm*  it 
esprefty,  Lsti*i  atttfxt  mtmtrtt  tt£  LHtfataoti  w«pf jrf«»i  ^ 
that  it,  S*tt  tbe  Latin*  4»  i»t  vttts*  t&eir  »*i*krrs  tf 
Zeiitrt,  The  U&ge  was  re»Uy  introdac'd  la  the  J>ay» 
of  Barbarffm.  MonJieur  «U  C*#ge,  exptaioieg  whse 
that  Ufage  wa»,  at  tn«  b«gtnit$n«  of  each  Letter  of  I 
Gjoffary,  '  ' 


$ng  of  each  Letter  o 
y  <f  .«*f**w,  «d*«i* 


of  <Ae  predecessor  of  The  Saturday  Evening  Post, 
December  24,  1728 


illustration,  in  a  letter  from  the  manufacturer  of 
a  twenty -five-cent  article  used  in  every  home:  "I 
firmly  believe  that  the  large  advertising  success  of 
this  company  commenced  with  the  use  of  a  back 
cover  on  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  in  February, 
1905."  That  was  large  space.  As  for  smaller  space, 
another  sentence  from  the  same  letter:  "A  224- 
line  advertisement  in  one  of  the  March,  1912,  is- 
sues of  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  brought  us 
2,888  replies." 

Most  publications  take  pride  in  the  number  of 
homes  they  enter.  Here  is  a  publication  which 
takes  pride  in  the  fact  that,  of  its  2,000,000 
homes  it  enters  a  very  large  percentage  by  way 
of  the  offices  of  the  men  who  live  in  those  homes. 
"No,  I  don't  subscribe  for  the  Post,"  men  often 
say.  "I  can't  wait  for  it  until  I  get  home.  I  want 
to  get  it  the  minute  it's  out,  so  I  buy  it  from  the 
first  boy  I  see."  They  read  it  on  the  train,  as  they 
do  their  newspapers,  and  then  take  it  home  to  the 
family. 

There  are  two  reasons  for  the  strength  of  The 
Saturday  Evening  Post  with  business  men. 

One,  oddly  enough,  lies  in  the  advertising 
itself.  Advertising  has  here  accomplished  the  feat 
of  lifting  itself  by  its  own  boot-straps.  Men  read 
the  advertisements  for  the  purpose  of  learning 
what  is  being  advertised,  and  how.  Americans 
worship  majorities.  We  meet  the  Post  boys  on 

246 


o 


every  street  corner.  We  see  men  and  women  read- 
ing it  at  home,  in  the  cars;  we  find  it  in  offices 
and  on  library  tables.  We  know  it  to  have  2,000,- 
000  circulation  and  we  witness,  with  our  own  eyes 
the  deep  interest  with  which  it  is  read  and  the 
character  of  its  readers.  And  so,  when  we  see  an 
advertisement  which  we  know  is  being  seen  by 
2,000,000  other  people,  we  argue — rightly,  too— 
that  if  the  product  is  worthy  of  the  expenditure  of 
large  sums  to  bring  it  to  the  attention  of  2,000,000 
people  it  is  worthy  of  our  attention.  Interest  begets 
interest.  The  more  the  advertising  and  the  greater 
the  audience  the  higher  the  respect  which  we  feel, 
and  lo!  we  are  gradually  and  unconsciously  led  into 
responding  to  some  of  the  advertising.  Multiplied 
by  hundreds  of  thousands  this  experience  spells 
the  success  of  many  an  advertiser. 

One  of  the  best-known  business  men  in  Ameri- 
ca, and  one  who  has  made  exhaustive  and  practi- 
cal study  of  advertising,  says:  "Nearly  all  busi- 
ness men  nowadays — I  mean  the  men  who  own 
business  and  really  run  the  business  affairs  of  this 
country — are  interested  in  advertising.  They  are 
interested  in  it  as  a  science  or  an  art  or  as  a  busi- 
ness instrument,  no  matter  whether  they  are  ac- 
tually advertisers  themselves  or  not.  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  no  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  million 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  this  country  go 
through  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  each  week 

248 


just  to  see  what  advertising  is  in  it,  if  they  don't 
go  through  it  for  any  other  reason.  They  have 
been  trained  to  know  that  in  this  publication  they 
can  get,  in  a  short  time  each  week,  a  view  of  what 
other  leading  business  institutions  are  doing  in 
the  way  of  advertising  and  in  the  way  of  new 
methods  of  marketing  their  goods.  One  of  the  sev- 
eral reasons,  in  my  opinion,  why  the  Post  is  so 
effective  as  an  advertising  medium  lies  right  in 
this  very  condition.  These  thousands  of  business 
men  look  through  the  Post  to  see  who  is  adver- 
tising, and,  doing  so,  they  become  interested  in 
the  various  propositions  that  are  displayed  there 
by  the  companies  which  advertise. 

"Business  men  are  keener  for  new  things  than 
they  used  to  be.  Competition  forces  them  to  be. 
In  lots  of  big  corporations  there  are  high-priced 
men  who  really  have  little  else  to  do  but  look  up 
new  methods  and  find  new  labor-saving  machin- 
ery and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  These  men  have 
found  out  that  the  advertising  pages  of  the  repu- 
table magazines  help  them  do  their  work,  because 
there  the  man  with  a  good  new  thing  is  apt  to  be 
telling  the  world  the  news  of  his  product." 

But  there  is  a  second,  and  more  basic,  reason 
why  the  Post  gets  the  attention  of  serious-minded 
men. 

It  is  the  character  of  the  editorial  contents  of 
the  publication.  The  Post  always  contains  busi- 

249 


ness  stories  and  political  matter  which  attract  the 
business  man.  And,  once  attracted,  he  finds  noth- 
ing silly  or  erotic  to  drive  him  away  again.  Its 
buoyancy  brings  to  it  the  youthful  in  spirit;  its 
soundness  holds  for  it  the  conservative.  Through- 
out it  attracts  the  optimistic,  wholesome-minded, 
successful  reader. 

The  history  of  the  publication  is  illustrative  of 
the  singleness  of  purpose  with  which  this  result 
has  been  sought.  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  is 
the  oldest  journal  of  any  kind  issued  today  by  the 
American  press.  Its  record  may  be  traced  in  a 
continuous  unbroken  line  back  to  the  day  when 
young  Benjamin  Franklin  edited  and  printed  the 
old  Pennsylvania  Gazette.  In  more  than  one 
hundred  and  eighty  years  there  has  been  hardly 
a  week — save  only  while  the  British  army  held 
Philadelphia  and  the  patriotic  printers  were  in 
exile — when  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  has  not 
been  issued. 

)        During  Christmas  week,  1728,  Samuel  Keimer 
/     began  its  publication  under  the  title  of  the  Uni- 
versal Instructor  in  All  Arts  and  Sciences:  and 
Pennsylvania  Gazette.  In  less  than  a  year  Keimer 
sold  it  to  Benjamin  Franklin,  who,  on  October 

/^-  2,  1729,  issued  the  first  copy  under  the  name  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Gazette.  Franklin  sold  his  share 
to  David  Hall,  his  partner,  in  1765.  In  1805  the 
grandson  of  David  Hall  became  the  publisher. 

250 


Suits          Skirts 


THE  CURTIS  PUBLISHING  CO. 

Gentlemen:  The  greatest  value  in  a  trade-mark,  in  my 
opinion,  lies  in  the  creation  of  a  standard,  in  the  erection  of  a 
banner  under  which  a  manufacturer  fights  for  better  merchan- 
dise, better  means  of  production,  better  distributing  methods. 

The  WOOLTEX  trade-mark  began  in  an  effort  to  use  all- 
wool  materials  instead  of  adulterated  materials,  but  soon  the 
trade-mark  itself  and  the  advertisements  concerning  it  necessi- 
tated better  linings,  better  interlinings,  better  styles,  better 
methods  of  business. 

Advertising  demands  merits  that  may  be  advertised.  When 
once  a  manufacturer  starts  on  the  path  of  improvement  the 
entire  world  is  searched  for  means  and  methods  to  produce 
improvement. 

Publicity  increases  the  sense  of  responsibility  of  the  maker 
towards  his  product — brings  about  constant  betterment.  Therein 
lies  the  inspiration  of  every  trade-mark  publicity  campaign.  The 
inspiration  towards  constant  betterment. 

With  this  betterment  and  the  advertising  which  calls  atten- 
tion to  it  comes  increased  patronage  from  the  discriminating 
public. 

Thus  a  trade-mark  makes  advertising  of  a  product  possible 
— the  right  kind  of  advertising  begets  betterment  in  the  product 
— with  this  betterment  comes  increased  public  appreciation,  and 
then  comes  the  reward  of  increased  business  and  increased  pres- 
tige. The  reward  comes  because  it  has  been  earned. 
Yours  very  truly, 

(Signed)  MORRIS  A.  BLACK,  Pres. 


Testimony  of  a  large  advertiser  to  the  value  of  advertising 
a  trade-mark 


When  he  died,  in  1821,  his  partner,  Samuel  C.  At- 
kinson, formed  an  alliance  with  Charles  Alexander, 
and  in  the  summer  of  that  year  they  changed 
the  title  of  the  Gazette  to  The  Saturday  Evening 
Post.  In  1897  the  weekly  was  acquired  by  The 
Curtis  Publishing  Company.  It  then  had  3,000 
circulation. 

While  editing  his  four-page  Gazette,  Franklin's 
imagination  might  have  leaped  from  his  kite  and 
key  to  the  electric  motors  that  today  print,  fold 
and  bind  one  hundred  and  eighty  copies  of  The 
Saturday  Evening  Post  each  minute  of  every 
hour  of  the  twenty-four,  five  days  a  week;  but  it 
is  doubtful  if  even  his  prophetic  mind  could  have 
foreseen  a  ninety -six-page  issue  of  his  paper  of  aft 
edition  of  more  than  two  million. 

When  the  Post  was  first  published  by  The 
Curtis  Company,  it  was  given  a  chance  to  find  it- 
self. Something  over  ten  years  ago  business  men 
quite  generally  began  to  discover  in  it  the  kind  of 
thing  they  wanted,  and  none  of  the  kind  of  thing 
they  objected  to.  They  flocked  to  read  it.  Soon 
after,  the  advertisers  began  to  get  a  glimmering 
of  the  advertising  opportunity.  As  far  back  as 
1903  one  issue  of  the  Post  carried  as  much  as  one 
hundred  and  twenty  columns  of  advertising. 

If  you  search  for  the  genius  that  has  made  pos- 
sible the  extraordinary  spectacle  of  more  than 
two  million  American  citizens  with  eyes  intent  on 
252 


a  copy  of  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  every 
Thursday  of  every  week  in  the  year  you  will  find 
it  in  an  editorial  policy  that  is  definitely  aimed  to 
produce  a  weekly,  modern,  but  not  yellow;  in- 
forming, but  in  nowise  stodgy;  entertaining,  but 
not  frivolous. 

The  editor's  stock  in  trade  is  ideas.  But  woe  to 
the  editor  who  sits  in  an  easy  chair  expecting  peo- 
ple to  bring  ideas  to  him.  He  must  produce  his 
ideas  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  It  is  this  editorial 
personality  that  makes  a  publication  "different" 
—and  attracts  that  two  million. 

Here  is  a  small  instance:  The  Saturday  Even- 
ing Post  started  an  entirely  new  school  of  fiction 
when  it  introduced  the  "story  of  business."  It 
required  some  courage  and  common  sense  to  de- 
part from  the  time-proved  and  conventional  love- 
story  of  two  anaemic  persons  of  opposite  sex,  with 
the  usual  blighted  affections  and  soul  spasms,  to 
find  and  develop  new  young  writers  that  had 
nothing  to  do  with  whether  or  not  "they  lived 
happily  ever  after,"  and  a  lot  to  say  about  The 
Man  Who  Does  Things.  The  roar  of  machinery, 
the  click  of  the  ticker,  the  grease  and  grime  of 
work — here  was  a  new  country,  and  The  Satur- 
day Evening  Post  homesteaded  it.  The  "glory 
that  was  Greece"  and  "the  grandeur  that  was 
Rome"  were  interpreted  into  the  enthusiasm 
that  is  Chicago. 

253 


Even  in  politics  it  opened  up  a  rich  field, 
hitherto  unsuspected.  Everybody  with  an  "hon- 
orable" prefixed  to  his  name  had  been  regarded 
either  as  a  saint  or  a  sinner.  The  Post  argued  that 
he  was  a  human  being,  made  of  the  same  sort  of 
dust  as  the  doctor  or  the  village  blacksmith.  It 
praised  his  virtues,  tried  to  explain  his  motives, 
laughed  at  his  poses  and  pretenses.  This  laughing 
has  oftentimes  made  him  squirm  a  bit,  but  it  has 
proved  good  for  his  soul. 

The  business  story  and  the  special  article — 
dealing  not  with  serried  ranks  of  statistics, but  with 
the  very  blood  and  sinews  of  business — its  polit- 
ical sanity,  its  progressiveness,  have  brought  The 
Saturday  Evening  Post  a  new  and  a  different 
reading  public,  merchants,  teachers,  manufac- 
turers, builders,  professional  men,  business  women 
and  ambitious  clerks. 

Thus  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  has  not 
merely  attracted  but  has  actually  created  a  new 
class  of  wide-awake  readers. 

An  illustration  of  the  effectiveness  of  this  ap- 
peal occurred  after  the  publication  of  a  two-instal- 
ment article  entitled  "Working  to  Save  Wood 
Waste."  Although  this  is  an  obscure  subject,  and 
although  the  article  did  not  solicit  inquiries,  it 
flooded  the  Office  of  Wood  Utilization  of  the 
United  States  Forest  Service  with  letters  of  in- 
quiry. The  Chief  of  that  office  wrote:  "As  a  result 

254 


of  your  article  this  office  has  received  1177  letters. 
.  .  .  By  far  the  larger  majority  were  from  saw- 
mills and  wood-using  manufacturers  who  were 
vitally  interested  in  the  utilization  of  their  waste 
material.  One  was  from  a  'muck  raker,'  two 
were  from  farmers  who  suggested  the  use  of  corn 
cob  rather  than  hickory  wood  for  smoking  meats, 
and  less  than  a  dozen  from  the  idly  curious." 

Such  a  response  to  an  editorial  article  is  amaz- 
ing. But  advertisers  constantly  obtain  even  more 
striking  results  from  copy  directed  chiefly  to  busi- 
ness men. 

A  heater  company  advertising  a  boiler  for  an- 
thracite coal,  spending  about  three-fourths  of  its 
appropriation  in  the  Post,  increased  this  line  42 
per  cent,  in  a  year  during  which  its  entire  busi- 
ness fell  off  30  per  cent.  The  following  six  months 
it  increased  50  per  cent,  more,  and  has  never 
since  been  able  to  keep  the  production  ahead  of 
the  sales. 

The  makers  of  an  electric  fan  doubled  their 
business  in  one  season  by  using  the  Post  alone 
during  May,  June,  July  and  August.  This  adver- 
tising also  led  directly  to  a  business  connection 
which  of  itself  was  worth  all  that  the  campaign 
had  cost. 

This  "  leading  to  a  business  connection  "  is  a  fre- 
quent occurrence.  The  so-called  "dealer  influ- 
ence" of  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  is  peculiarly 

255 


strong.  Dry  goods  merchants,  grocers,  hardware 
dealers — retailers  of  all  kinds — regard  the  Post  as 
a  sort  of  business  barometer.  Experience  and 
their  own  common  sense  have  taught  that  a  com- 
modity advertised  in  The  Saturday  Evening  Post 
is  probably  going  to  be  in  demand,  and  they  stock 
up.  And  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  read  it.  An 
investigator  for  a  manufacturer  visited  285  men's 
furnishing,  clothing  and  haberdashery  stores  in  a 
large  Western  city.  He  found  that  the  Post  was 
read  in  absolutely  every  store — in  many  cases 
both  by  proprietors  and  by  responsible  employees. 
On  the  strength  of  this  fact  alone  the  Post  is  now 
being  used  as  a  trade  paper  by  that  manufacturer. 
Manufacturers  have  taken  orders  worth  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars  before  any  adver- 
tising appeared  on  their  assurance  to  dealers  that 
the  Post  was  to  be  used.  This  is  a  very  valuable 
asset  to  advertisers  as  well  as  to  the  publication, 
and  one  which  needs  to  be  jealously  guarded. 
Retailers  have  become  accustomed  to  hearing 
cries  of  wolf !  wolf !  Too  often  in  the  past  they  have 
stocked  up  on  the  strength  of  future  advertising 
only  to  see  the  promised  campaign  go  a-glimmer- 
ing  and  the  goods  stand  on  their  shelves  accumu- 
lating dust  and  carrying-charges.  The  publishers 
of  The  Saturday  Evening  Post,  therefore,  are  ex- 
ceedingly cautious  about  accepting  any  advertis- 
ing in  which  dealers  might  have  an  interest  which 

256 


has  not  behind  it  a  consistent  schedule.  They  are 
conscious  of  an  obligation  to  protect  the  dealer 
against  false  promises,  because  broken  promises 
would  effectively  destroy  this  unique  dealer  in- 
fluence. So  successful  has  this  guardianship  been 
that  the  dealer  influence  is  becoming  stronger 
every  week. 

Still  another  advantage  of  the  tremendous  cir- 
culation of  this  periodical  is  "concentration" — 
it  is  so  big  that  in  many  cases  it  can  cover  the  en- 
tire field  without  the  use  of  other  mediums.  The 
Saturday  Evening  Post  is  not  simply  included  in 
the  lists  used  by  the  biggest  national  advertisers. 
In  most  cases  it  heads  the  list.  In  many  cases  it  is 
the  list,  the  only  publication  used.  Time  and  again 
it  has,  single-handed,  waged  successful  campaigns. 

More  than  50  per  cent,  of  the  money  spent  by 
the  automobile  industry  for  advertising  in  the 
leading  magazines  is  spent  in  The  Saturday  Even- 
ing Post.  The  approximate  amount  of  automobile 
advertising  carried  by  the  publication  for  the  last 
six  years  is  as  follows : 

1907 $    75,000 

1908 120,000 

1909 300,000 

1910 780,000 

1911 1,181,000 

1912 1,722,688 

257 


What  more  conclusive  evidence  could  be 
found? 

The  cost  of  advertising  in  The  Saturday  Even- 
ing Post,  for  a  circulation  of  more  than  2,000,000, 
is  $4,500  per  page.  Admittedly  this  is  a  large 
amount  of  money  to  spend  for  one  advertisement 
in  one  publication.  It  is  for  this  very  reason  that 
the  publishers  of  The  Saturday  Evening  Post  are 
conscious  of  a  heavy  responsibility  in  advising 
manufacturers  to  advertise  in  it.  It  is  for  this  rea- 
son that  they  insist  upon  considering  each  pro- 
posed advertising  campaign  upon  its  own  merits. 
If  the  client's  distribution  is  right  and  his  product 
right  and  if  other  conditions  are  favorable  they 
are,  however,  prepared  to  demonstrate  the  true 
economy  of  using  the  publication.  A  circulation 
of  2,000,000  is  difficult  for  the  average  mind  to 
grasp;  the  figures  are  entirely  too  large  for  the 
layman  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  value  offered. 
But  consider.  Ironwood,  Michigan,  has  a  popula- 
tion of  12,000.  The  Post  has  a  circulation  there  of 
about  400.  The  cost  of  reaching  those  400  people 
with  a  full  page  is  only  90  cents.  Beaumont,  Tex., 
has  20,000  population  and  a  Post  circulation  of 
about  1100.  The  cost  of  the  1100  full  pages  going 
into  this  city  is  $2.48.  Nashville,  Tennessee,  has 
a  population  of  110,000  and  a  Post  circulation  of 
approximately  4500.  The  cost  of  reaching  these 
4500  Post  readers  in  this  city  with  a  full  page  is 

258 


1^0,000,000 

14o,ooo,ooo 


INCREASING  CAPITALIZATION  AND  DECREASING 

NUMBER  ^AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENT  ESTABLISH- 
MENTS. — IncreasirgCAPITALIZATION--.  Decreas- 
ing NUMBER  of  Establishments. 


"A  remarkable  slaughter  of  the  innocents  is  depicted  by  Chart  I.  While  the  cap- 
italization in  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  implements  increased  more 
than  three-fold  in  twenty-Jive  years,  the  number  of  establishments  (which  it 
seemed  fitting  to  portray  by  a  blood-red  line)  decreased  to  one-third" 
(From  Report  by  Curtis  Commercial  Research  Division) 


$10.13.  It  costs  $180  to  send  a  full  page  to  the 
80,000  readers  of  the  Post  in  Chicago,  and  only 
$247.50  to  spread  a  full-page  advertisement  be- 
fore every  one  of  110,000  eager  readers  in  New 
York  City. 

The  man  with  a  national  market  may  readily 
deduce  the  corresponding  value  which  he  receives 
all  over  the  country  from  his  expenditure  for  one 
full  page. 

That  the  large  advertisers,  those  who  presum- 
ably have  best  analysed  the  capabilities  of  adver- 
tising mediums,  are  displaying  a  consistently 
strengthening  faith  in  The  Saturday  Evening  Post 
is  obvious  when  one  reviews  the  increase  in  the 
number  of  full-page  advertisements  which  the 
publication  is  carrying.  Here  is  the  schedule  year 
by  year: 

Number  of  advertisements 
Year  occupying  full  page  or  more 

1907 179 

1908 269 

1909 460 

1910 663 

1911 731 

1912 831 

During  the  same  period  the  number  of  double- 
page  advertisements  increased  from  13  in  1909  to 
105  in  1912,  and  during  the  year  1912  one  adver- 
tiser used  3  pages  in  one  issue  and  another  5 
260 


pages.  The  latter,  an  announcement  of  the  Stude- 
baker  Corporation,  was  widely  commented  upon 
as  the  most  notable  single  advertisement  of  the 
year. 

All  these  increases  came  in  the  face  of  consis- 
tently increasing  cost  for  space,  due  to  the  rapid 
growth  of  circulation.  It  indicates  not  only  that 
the  advertisers  who  have  most  at  stake  are  con- 
fidently placing  more  and  more  responsibility  up- 
on The  Saturday  Evening  Post  for  the  success  of 
their  campaigns,  but  also  that  an  increasing  num- 
ber of  them  are  appreciating  the  value  of  the 
space  unit.  The  large  page  of  The  Saturday  Even- 
ing Post,  combined  with  its  enormous  circulation, 
makes  it  possible  for  an  advertiser  to  create  an 
impression  of  dignity  and  dominance,  and  to 
cover  an  immense  field  far  more  quickly  than  by 
the  employment  of  small  space  and  small  circula- 
tion. The  very  bigness  of  the  thing  increases  its 
effectiveness  far  out  of  proportion  to  the  cost  of 
the  space. 

But  it  would  be  a  grave  error  to  assume  that 
the  Post  is  simply  for  the  big  fellow.  It  makes 
money  every  week  for  scores  of  small  advertisers 
who  use  it  wisely.  Their  business  is  handled 
with  as  much  care,  their  interests  as  earnestly 
protected,  and  the  returns  to  them  relatively 
as  profitable.  Many  a  great  advertiser  has  grown 
out  of  one  who,  beginning  to  use  The  Saturday 

261 


Evening  Post  in  a  small  way,wisely  employed  his 
profits  in  a  gradual  increase  of  his  space. 

After  all,  whether  the  advertiser  be  little  or  big, 
whether  he  wants  to  reach  the  woman  or  the  man, 
it  all  comes  back  to  the  influence  of  the  Post  in 
the  home. 

It  is  the  ever-present  consciousness  of  colossal 
strength  that  makes  for  the  success  of  The  Satur- 
day Evening  Post.  If  The  Saturday  Evening  Post 
were  not  successful  in  reaching  the  home,  if  it  had 
not  been  found  capable  of  selling  soap,  hosiery, 
furniture,  silverware,  pianos,  talking-machines,  it 
would  not  command  the  respect  of  business  men. 
But  because  it  has  sold  these  things  one  manufac- 
turer after  another  has  given  it  a  try  out  at  selling 
such  things  as  carbon  paper,  stationery,  pencils, 
filing-systems,  paint,  roofing,  tools,  gas  engines, 
motors,  boilers,  trucks,  cash  registers,  and  adding 
machines. 

And  because  of  its  peculiar  influence  with  busi- 
ness men — founded  on  its  unequaled  influence  in 
the  home — it  has  been  enabled  to  sell  even  such 
technical  and  specialized  products  as  these,  and 
do  it  economically. 

Whatever  your  advertising  problem,  if  national, 
The  Saturday  Evening  Post — on  past  perform- 
ances as  well  as  on  theory — must  logically  be  con- 
sidered in  your  search  for  a  solution. 


IV 

Advertising  to  Farmers 

THERE  are  more  than  6,000,000  farms  in 
the  United  States. 
The  farm  population  is  the  largest  single 
division  of  our  ninety  million  inhabitants,  so  large 
that  it  has  the  power,  acting  as  a  unit,  to  over- 
throw an  administration,  smash  a  powerful  com- 
bination or  make  the  fortune  of  a  manufacturer. 
Politicians  court  the  farmer,  currency  systems  are 
shaped  to  move  his  crops,  and  national  merchan- 
dizing campaigns  often  fail  or  succeed  according 
to  the  degree  in  which  they  obtain  his  patronage. 
The  manufacturer  must  provide  a  means  for  get- 
ting his  goods  into  a  share  of  these  more  than 
6,000,000  farm-houses,  else  his  selling  plans  are 
woefully  awry. 

No  longer,  however,  is  the  American  farmer  in- 
duced to  part  with  his  crop  of  money  by  glitter- 
ing gold-brick  methods.  The  hayseed  exists  only 
in  the  unenlightened  imaginations  of  the  comic 
artist  and  the  jokesmith. 

The  new  sort  of  farmer  to  whom  your  selling  ar- 
guments are  to  be  directed  is  a  business  man.  So- 
cially, intellectually  and  in  his  aims  he  does  not 
differ  from  the  heads  of  commercial  houses  and 

263 


factories  in  the  city.  Within  the  past  decade  agri- 
cultural schools,  governmental  propaganda  and 
the  advance  of  science  have  brought  to  pass  a 
new  era  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  They  have 
given  us  a  scientific,  intelligent,  bookkeeping 
farmer.  He  expects  his  land  to  produce  a  satisfac- 
tory profit — not  a  bare  subsistence.  He  sends  his 
soil  away  to  be  analyzed,  his  corn  is  sampled  for 
food  content,  his  cows  are  tested  for  tuberculosis. 
He  keeps  ledgers  and  card  files.  His  hands  are  or- 
ganized with  definite  daily  tasks  and  standards, 
his  barns  are  planned  to  make  for  the  greatest 
efficiency,  his  farm  fields  and  crops  so  arranged  as 
to  yield  the  largest  return  at  the  smallest  expendi- 
ture of  time  and  effort. 

The  dairyman  charges  each  individual  cow 
with  her  board,  and  if  she  does  not  more  than 
pay  her  keep  in  milk  and  butter,  she  is  shipped 
off  to  market. 

Not  many  years  ago  there  were  but  few  farmers 
who  thus  regarded  their  land  as  a  factory.  Today 
there  are  hundreds  of  thousands.  Every  year  the 
colleges  are  turning  out  thousands  of  young  men 
so  trained,  and  every  year,  as  a  result  of  inven- 
tion and  governmental  aid,  probably  an  equal 
number  of  old-line  farmers  is  joining  the  ranks  of 
the  progressives. 

As  this  new  kind  of  country  population  multi- 
plied there  arose  two  needs: 
264 


flnternalionalj  M  \    Manu- 


iHarvesterCo.  i=i    facturer 


|    Branch   ] 
|  Houses    I 

RetailerH  I  j  Canvassers  Retailers 

(_ PI  [ / 1=4  __"  B  L 


mers  gl  Consumer 


SPECIALTIES 

Used  by  Manufacturers  of  Specialties  and  by  small 
Manufacturers  of  Staples 


VARYING  METHODS  of  MERC  HAND  IS  - 
IMP! 


ING  AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS  -  Chart 

from  report  by  Curtis  Commercial  Research  Division 


1.  A  need  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturer  for 
a  more  efficient  medium  of  reaching  them  with 
his  advertising. 

2.  A  need  on  the  part  of  these  men  themselves 
for  a  farm  publication  appropriate  to  their  stand- 
ards of  education  and  life. 

There  are  in  this  country  more  than  four  hun- 
dred periodicals  for  the  rural  reader.  But  the  last 
three  years  have  witnessed  the  discontinuance  or 
consolidation  of  many  such  papers.  The  weaker 
journals  are  being  eliminated,  and  the  stronger 
ones  trying  to  build  themselves  up  to  fit  new  con- 
ditions. 

The  Curtis  Publishing  Company  recognized 
that  a  radical  departure  in  agricultural  journal- 
ism was  the  only  way  to  meet  the  situation.  It 
believed  that  the  publisher  who  dared  to  make 
such  a  departure  would  have  a  three  fold  re- 
ward: 

1.  Ultimately,  a  profitable  publication  for  The 
Curtis  Publishing  Company. 

2.  The  satisfaction  of  supplying  to  manufac- 
turers a  proper  vehicle  for  communicating  with  a 
growing  class  of  high-grade  citizens. 

3.  The  doing  of  something  worth  while  for 
American  agriculture. 

The  Curtis  Publishing  Company  reviewed  the 
field  carefully,  and  finally  purchased  The  Country 
Gentleman. 

266 


This  is  the  oldest  agricultural  journal  in  the 
world,  having  been  published  for  over  eighty 
years.  The  Genesee  Farmer  was  founded  at  Roch- 
ester, N.  Y.,  in  1831,  by  Luther  Tucker.  The  Cul- 
tivator, started  at  Albany  in  1834,  was  purchased 
by  Mr.  Tucker  in  1839,  and  consolidated  with  his 
other  publication  into  a  monthly.  In  1853  he 
started  The  Country  Gentleman,  into  which  in 
1866  he  fused  The  Cultivator.  From  1831  to  the 
time  of  purchase  by  the  Curtis  Company  there 
was  no  change  of  ownership,  it  having  passed 
from  father  to  son  each  generation.  The  Country 
Gentleman  built  up  for  itself  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion for  authority,  and  had  attained  a  circulation 
of  30,000  when  purchased  by  the  Curtis  Company. 
The  first  issue  under  the  new  management  was 
July  6,  1911. 

The  form,  scope  and  policies  of  the  paper  were 
utterly  changed. 

It  was  made  national.  It  took  every  branch  of 
agriculture  for  its  province.  It  adopted  a  general 
viewpoint,  dealing  with  the  broad  as  well  as  the 
daily  and  local  problems  of  the  farmer. 

Its  platform  was  built  of  four  stout  planks — 
these: 

"We  stand  for  a  national  solution  of  national 
agricultural  problems — at  present  mostly  political. 

"We  stand  for  a  square  deal  for  the  land — for 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  whatever  improves 

267 


the  situation  of  the  man  on  the  land  is  of  univer- 
sal benefit. 

"  We  stand  for  a  high  business  efficiency  of  the 
individual  farmer,  which  will  increase  his  net  prof- 
its from  the  soil. 

"We  stand  for  a  broader  and  more  satisfactory 
country  life — better  social  conditions  and  better 
standards  of  home  making." 

The  radical  feature  of  this  policy  was  in  adopt- 
ing a  national  and  general  attitude  toward  an  ac- 
tivity so  diversified,  so  sensitive  to  climatic  and 
other  local  conditions.  The  prophets  forecasted 
failure.  They  said  that  the  potato  farmer  of 
Maine  wanted  to  know  only  about  the  affairs  of 
his  own  section,  or  that  if  his  interests  extended 
at  all  beyond  New  England  it  was  only  with  rela- 
tion to  a  few  potato  crops  and  markets  elsewhere. 
They  said  the  same  of  the  orchardist  in  Hood 
River,  the  peach-grower  in  Georgia. 

The  answer  of  The  Country  Gentleman  to  this 
was  to  point  out  that  every  modern  farmer,  no 
matter  where  he  might  be,  finds  inspiration  or 
warning  in  the  experiences  of  other  farmers  per- 
haps thousands  of  miles  away ;  that  every  farmer 
is  interested  in  the  tariff,  reciprocity,  parcel  post; 
railroads,  good  roads,  cooperative  marketing; 
money,  mortgages,  insurance;  farm  bookkeeping, 
organization,  new  inventions;  the  grange,  social 
life,  home  making.  It  pointed  out  that  in  hundreds 

268 


of  vital,  every-day  affairs  the  farmers  of  north, 
east,  south  and  west  have  a  common  interest. 

It  declared  that  a  national  publication  might 
do  a  most  valuable  work  in  enlarging  the  scope  of 
the  farmer,  through  greater  diversification  of  his 
crops.  Crops  that  have  been  thought  impracticable 
outside  restricted  territories  may,  by  slightly  dif- 
ferent methods,  become  commercially  successful 
elsewhere.  A  national  farm  paper  carries  the  story 
of  each  crop  broadcast. 

The  prophets  said  that  the  farmer  would  not 
appreciate  a  publication  printed  on  fine  paper, 
well  illustrated,  dealing  with  big  problems  in  a 
big,  dignified  way.  They  still  believed  in  talking 
down  to  him. 

The  answer  of  The  Country  Gentleman  to  this 
was  to  produce  the  best  printed  farm  publication 
in  the  country,  and  to  spend  $75,000  the  first  year 
for  the  matter  with  which  to  fill  it.  It  obtained  the 
best  editors,  the  best  articles,  the  best  illustra- 
tions that  money  could  buy.  It  attracted  veteran 
writers  and  developed  new  ones,  with  the  new 
viewpoint.  It  enlisted  the  support  of  federal, 
state  and  university  experts. 

Departments  for  the  country  woman  were  es- 
tablished— country  cooking,  sewing,  the  care  of 
the  home,  gardens,  hired-girl  and  hired-man 
problems,  social  affairs,  fiction  and  verse.  Polit- 
ical events,  the  world's  crops  and  the  world's  mar- 

269 


kets  were  assigned  to  qualified  experts  for  weekly 
review.  The  every-day  affairs  of  the  farmer,  too, 
were  given  close  attention,  and  columns  of  prac- 
tical advice  on  many  branches  of  agriculture  regu- 
larly published. 

In  brief,  The  Country  Gentleman  presented  an 
all-round,  authoritative,  readable,  good-looking 
publication. 

The  results  have  justified  the  belief  of  the  Curtis 
Company  in  its  original  policy.  In  twenty  months 
the  circulation  increased  eight  hundred  per  cent. 
It  is,  when  this  volume  is  issued,  more  than 
250,000.  Even  without  this  substantial  evidence 
the  correctness  of  the  fundamental  plan  would  be 
proved  by  the  enthusiastic  support  and  commen- 
dation vouchsafed  by  many  of  those  who  at  the 
outset  predicted  failure. 

More  than  that,  advertisers  who  discerned  the 
significance  of  this  new  kind  of  publication  are 
sharing  in  its  success.  Here  are  a  few  of  the  results 
which  it  has  yielded: 

Used  in  connection  with  a  long  list  of  dairy 
papers,  The  Country  Gentleman  produced  48  per 
cent,  of  the  total  inquiries. 

For  a  separator,  it  brought  more  inquiries  than 
any  other  five  publications  put  together — used  as 
a  poultry  paper,  it  cost  only  one-fifth  as  much  per 
inquiry  as  any  one  of  four  others — for  fruit,  it 
proved  more  effective  than  five  fruit  papers. 

270 


•I 

•£. 

1 


1 


It  has  obtained  customers  for  harvesting  ma- 
chinery, cattle  instruments,  feed  mixers,  straw- 
berry plants. 

It  has  been  very  successful,  through  its  classi- 
fied department,  in  selling  farm  lands. 

Through  one  advertising  agency  alone  more 
than  fifty  different  accounts  were  placed  in  The 
Country  Gentleman  during  its  first  year.  On  the 
basis  of  the  actual  evidence  that  agency  has 
now  placed  the  paper  at  the  head  of  its  farm -paper 
lists. 

There  is  plentiful  testimony  of  this  kind.  But 
this  is  only  an  earnest  of  the  future. 

The  Country  Gentleman  is  on  a  rising  market. 
First,  numerically.  The  kind  of  farmers  who  want 
a  progressive,  national  publication  are  constantly 
increasing. 

The  second  consideration  is  even  more  signifi- 
cant. It  is  that  of  prosperity.  The  particular 
farmers  who  are  now  reading  The  Country  Gentle- 
man, and  those  who  as  time  goes  on  will  be  num- 
bered among  its  readers,  are  the  very  ones  who, 
by  reason  of  their  modern  methods  and  energetic 
character,  will  be  continually  more  prosperous. 
They  are  the  ones  who  will  be  buying  more  and 
better  implements,  stock,  seed,  fertilizer.  They 
are  also  the  ones  who  will  be  buying  the  best 
houses,  automobiles,  pianos,  food,  clothing,  furni- 
ture— conveniences  and  luxuries. 
272 


An  advertiser  of  an  agricultural  implement 
stated  that  he  could  pick  out  of  his  daily  mail  the 
letters  from  readers  of  The  Country  Gentleman, 
by  the  engraved  letterhead  of  the  farm,  the  qual- 
ity of  the  paper  and  the  writing. 

If  you  were  a  big  shoe  manufacturer,  and  knew 
just  the  range  where  gold  was  to  be  struck  next, 
or  just  the  town  that  was  about  to  have  a  land 
boom,  you  would  go  straight  there  and  establish 
an  agency.  The  population  would  treble  and  quad- 
ruple, and  every  family  in  town  would  have  twice 
as  much  to  spend. 

The  Country  Gentleman  may  be  regarded  as 
the  prospective  gold  field  of  the  farm  press. 

Those  advertisers  who  enter  it  now  will  receive 
an  early  and  advantageous  introduction,  and  be 
prepared  to  share  to  the  full  in  the  success  of 
The  Country  Gentleman. 

And  the  best  assurance  of  success  lies  in  the  his- 
tory of  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal  and  The  Sat- 
urday Evening  Post,  and  in  the  well-defined  policy 
that  has  shaped  this  history. 


V 
A  Monument  to  Advertising 

IN  Independence  Square  at  Philadelphia  there 
stands,  as  a  monument  to  advertising,  the 
most  completely  equipped  publishing  plant 
in  the  world. 

In  this  plant  are  produced  the  Curtis  publica- 
tions. The  building  covers  fourteen  and  a  half 
acres  of  floor  space,  and  houses  the  editorial,  cir- 
culation, manufacturing  and  all  other  depart- 
ments, with  two  exceptions.  In  another  part  of 
Philadelphia  a  separate  warehouse  is  maintained 
for  the  storage  of  paper  and  coal.  The  advertis- 
ing department  headquarters  are  in  New  York 
City,  with  branches  in  Boston,  Philadelphia  and 
Chicago. 

In  the  Philadelphia  building  3,300  people  are 
employed,  working,  in  the  manufacturing  depart- 
ment, in  two  shifts,  night  and  day.  On  the  aver- 
age the  pressrooms  turn  out  half  a  million  com- 
pleted publications  a  day — 10,000,000  every  28 
days — more  than  125,000,000  a  year.  The  equip- 
ment necessary  to  do  this  includes  114  presses, 
some  of  which  are  large  enough  to  print,  fold  and 
bind  an  entire  number  of  The  Saturday  Evening 
Post.  More  than  150  tons  of  paper  are  consumed 

275 


daily — the  entire  output  of  seven  mills,  employ- 
ing 1,000  men. 

The  magnitude  of  facilities  such  as  these  is 
striking.  But  equally  significant  is  the  minute  at- 
tention given  to  every  detail  in  order  that  reader 
and  advertiser  may  have  the  best  service  that 
skill  can  afford.  The  fact  that  the  most  expensive 
inks  are  purchased  seems  a  matter  of  trifling  ex- 
pense until  we  consider  that  one  and  one-third 
tons  of  ink  are  required  every  day. 

The  time  and  expense  devoted  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  advertising  pages  for  the  press  will,  per- 
haps, best  serve  as  an  example  of  the  attention  to 
detail  which  is  the  keynote  of  the  enormous  opera- 
tions that  go  on  in  this  building. 

Many  an  advertisement  receives  far  more  at- 
tention from  the  Curtis  Company  than  it  does 
from  the  man  who  is  paying  for  it.  By  some  freak 
of  false  economy  an  advertiser  will  spend  $5,000 
for  the  space  which  his  copy  is  to  occupy  and  then 
go  to  a  cheap  engraver  in  order  to  save  $5.00  in 
the  cost  of  his  cuts,  with  the  result  that  he  loses 
heavily  in  the  value  of  his  illustration.  To  remedy 
the  weakness  of  poorly  made  cuts  the  Curtis  Com- 
pany maintains,  at  an  annual  expense  of  $25,000, 
a  perfecting  department.  Here  every  cut  is  brought 
to  its  greatest  efficiency — corners  squared,  high- 
lights brought  out,  shadows  deepened,  printing 
qualities  strengthened.  Frequently  this  operation 

276 


Weighing  Words 

WE  all  know  the  type  of  man  who  at  board  meet- 
ings sits  silent  in  his  chair  and  listens,  while  others 
gesticulate  and  harangue.  Then,  after  a  time,  he 
interposes  quietly.  He  -speaks  slowly,  in  low  tones,  and 
weighs  his  words.  Nothing  is  overstated,  nothing  is  said 
which  doesn't  bear  the  impress  of  truth,  nothing  which 
raises  a  doubt  of  the  speaker's  veracity  or  of  the  correctness 
of  his  information. 

And  he  gets  away  with  the  votes,  sometimes  on  very 
radical  measures. 

Much  the  same  thing  occurs  in  advertising. 

The  public  has  been  harangued  too  long.  Its  ears  are 
jangling,  its  eyes  weary  with  following  wild  gestures.  Its 
intelligence  has  been  insulted  too  often,  its  credulity  stretched 
too  far.  And  it  turns  with  relief  to  listen  to  the  low- voiced, 
moderate  advertiser  who  avoids  exaggeration,  deliberately 
understates  his  case,  and  appeals  to  reason.  Readers  gener- 
ally have  come  to  believe  that  the  less  merit  an  article  pos- 
sesses the  louder  the  talk  which  is  spent  upon  it. 

This  has  been  proved  by  the  experience  of  wise  adver- 
tisers who  have  changed  from  the  exaggeration  method  to 
that  of  moderation. 

The  public  is  weighing  words — and  the  balance  swings 
toward  the  more  solid  ones. 


THE  CURTIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
INDEPENDENCE  SQUARE,  PHILADELPHIA 


One  of  the  Curtis  advertisements,  which  are  designed  to 
promote  better  advertising  methods 


heightens  by  a  large  percentage  the  pulling  power 
of  an  advertisement;  but  even  then  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  obtain  the  results  which  the  advertiser 
himself,  by  proper  attention  in  the  first  place, 
might  have  assured.* 

Another  point  at  which  the  facilities  of  the 
Curtis  plant  offer  great  advantage  is  make-up. 
The  regulations  to  which  all  advertisers  are  held 
by  this  company  are  sometimes  thoughtlessly 
indicted  as  unfairly  rigid.  Analysis,  however,  will 
prove  their  importance  to  the  space  user  himself. 

Masses  of  heavy  black  in  advertisements  are 
not  allowed.  One  advertiser  whose  type  or  illus- 
tration is  heavily  inked  will  overshadow  all  other 
advertiserson  the  page,  and  thus  gain  an  unfairad- 
vantage.  Furthermore,  if  many  advertisers  should 
follow  suit  the  pages  would  soon  be  so  dazzling  as 
to  tire  the  reader's  eye,  and  less  attention  would 
be  given  to  the  message  of  each  advertiser.  Men 
are  therefore  kept  constantly  at  work  "tooling" 
or  "stippling"  cuts  in  order  to  shade  all  heavy 
tones  down  to  a  pleasing  gray. 

Every  advertisement  must  be  the  full  width  of 
the  column,  so  as  to  avoid  ugly  irregularity  along 
the  margins.  Certain  fonts  of  type  must  be  used, 

*  In  passing,  it  cannot  be  too  emphatically  stated  that  when  adver- 
tisers generally  come  to  appreciate  more  strongly  the  importance  of  the 
appearance  of  the  matter  with  which  they  fill  expensive  space  the  effec- 
tiveness of  all  advertising  will  be  immeasurably  increased. 

278 


^> 

•*^ 

c-1 


to  insure  against  a  hodge-podge  confusing  to  the 
reader. 

Extreme  care  is  taken  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
advertisements  in  each  page.  Unfortunate  juxta- 
position is  avoided.  A  revolver  and  a  baby  food 
side  by  side  would  both  lose  in  effectiveness.  A 
pure  white  linen  collar  would  appear  soiled  if 
"backed  up"  by  a  dark  picture  which  showed 
through  the  paper  slightly. 

Throughout  the  make-up  the  greatest  care  is 
exercised  to  get  for  the  advertiser  the  best  possible 
results,  to  see  that  the  path  which  the  reader's 
eye  is  to  follow  is  made  smooth  and  easy. 

An  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  such  de- 
tails as  these  and  an  acquaintance  with  the  proc- 
esses by  which  great  publications  are  made  are 
of  much  value  to  the  man  who  wants  to  know  how 
to  use  advertising  most  effectively.  The  Curtis 
Publishing  Company  would  like  to  feel  that  its 
plant  serves  as  a  concrete  example  for  all  adver- 
tisers, and  therefore  is  eager  to  welcome  visitors. 

It  is  appropriate  that  this  plant  should  be  so 
regarded. 

For  it  was  built  by  the  achievements  of  many 
manufacturers.  The  success  of  a  publication— 
permanently — depends  absolutely  upon  the  suc- 
cess of  its  advertisers.  Only  when  they  have  suc- 
ceeded do  they  continue  to  advertise  and  to  stand 
forth  as  examples  impelling  others  to  advertise. 

280 


Effective  suggestion  through  illustration 


The  greater  prosperity  of  The  Curtis  Publishing 
Company  may  be  attributed  largely  to  the  fact 
that  it  has,  perhaps  a  little  more  correctly  than  the 
many,  interpreted  the  meaning  of  modern  mer- 
chandizing. This  done,  it  could  not  but  succeed, 
for  the  advance  of  advertising  itself  must  inevi- 
tably carry  along  with  it  every  one  who  uses  it 
rightly — whether  publisher,  manufacturer  or  con- 
sumer. 

This  building,  then,  is  always  open  to  those 
who  advertise,  those  who  have  advertised,  and 
those  who  believe  in  advertising. 

You  will  be  cordially  welcome  whenever  you 
may  have  an  opportunity  to  visit  it. 

When  you  do,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  you  will 
look  upon  it  as  a  monument  to  modern  selling 
forces — a  brick-and-steel  manifestation  of  the 
service  upon  which  advertising  is  founded. 


SELLING 
FORCES 


A  Study  of  the  Basic  Principles 

of  Advertising,  and  more  Particularly 

Advertising  in  National  Periodicals 

Intended  Chiefly  for  the  Layman 

Prepared  and  Issued  by  The  Curtis  Publish- 
ing Company,  Publishers  of  The  Ladies9 
Home  Journal,  The  Saturday  Evening  Post 
and  The  Country  Gentleman 

£84  pages,  66  Illustrations,  including 
Maps  and  Charts 

PRICE,  $2.00 

POSTPAID 


THE   CURTIS   PUBLISHING   COMPANY 

1  MADISON  AVENUE 

NEW  YORK  CITY 


The  Forest  Press,  New  York 

for  the  Publicity  Printing  Department  of 

The  Curtis  Publishing  Company 


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